Malak Abas is a toes-on-the-ground city reporter at the Winnipeg Free Press. She’s been a vigorous steward of the publication’s long legacy of muckraking journalism, which started back in 1872. Abas, who grew up in Winnipeg’s North End, will bring her unique local perspective to her reporting. She had previously been the Editor-in-Chief of the campus newspaper at the University of Manitoba before coming to the Winnipeg Free Press in 2020. Further, every one of her articles is reviewed by a talented editing staff, holding every article to the highest standards of factuality and credibility before publication.
Lately, Abas has been at the forefront of addressing pressing public health matters in Manitoba, such as during a recent measles outbreak. With these rising cases and growing scrutiny, Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre has placed screening measures for visitors entering high-risk wards. We are seeing this proactive approach to protecting patients within hospital settings and this is a result of increasing awareness of infectious diseases.
The public health community has long touted the benefit of preventing illness before it starts. Epidemiologist Cynthia Carr, who has long advocated for these targeted efforts across the province, hopes this approach will expand. She hopes they’ll make it to high-risk settings and populations. “I hope that this will be expanded throughout the province to high-risk settings and high-risk groups, in terms of the specific, targeted approach for exclusions,” she stated.
With measles at risk of becoming endemic in Canada, public health officials are calling for extra vigilance. Carr also pointed out that routine transmission would become possible if we don’t take preventive measures. Because we don’t want to go back to this being endemic once more, that is, often circulating in Canada. We’re at risk,” she warned.
In light of recent health scares, Jonny Neufeld commented on the situation, stating, “There’s been some scares, but no measles.” This sentiment reflects a collective hope that the precautions currently being enforced can mitigate risks and maintain public health safety.
The effects from the COVID-19 pandemic are still being felt across the community. Residents are learning how to exercise their new agency in making health-promoting choices. Carr acknowledged this delicate balance: “Having gone through COVID-19, and people still recovering from feeling like things got too strict, that they had a lack of agency in making their own decisions… It feels like it’s trying to take sort of a step approach with a continued effort (toward) relationship building, trust.”
Keir Johnson, a local advocate for public health awareness, said the hospital’s new measures will go a long way. “Seeing Manitoba’s largest hospital take pandemic-like screening precautions should be a wake-up call to Manitobans,” he emphasized. This screening protocol continues to remind us about the ever-present, pernicious, and stealthy nature of infectious disease in our society.
Abas’ reporting has been instrumental in helping people understand these major health advances. She remains committed to her art and her profession’s code of ethics. This helps her make deeper connections with her community and advocate for more informed, intentional decisions about health practices.
