Unvaccinated Manitobans working with vulnerable face choice of COVID-19 test or discipline
CBC
Get tested or face the consequences — that's the new choice facing potentially thousands of Manitobans who work with vulnerable populations but have yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Public health officials hope the inconvenience of being subjected to a test every 48 hours, logging it and showing the result to a supervisor will sway some to join the growing number of vaccinated Manitobans.
But the testing requirement, which takes effect Monday, may not convince everybody.
Ron Falk, board chair of the Steinbach-based Hanover School Division, worries it will inflame tensions.
"It's just another divisive thing, right, and doesn't matter really which side of the fence you're on," Falk said.
He suspects the hassle of routine testing will push some employees to walk away from their jobs — in education and beyond.
"It's happening in all phases of society now" said Falk, whose school division is in an area of southeastern Manitoba with a vaccination rate below the provincial average.
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