The Start

Greg's back in the 'home office', broadcasting from home again as variant cases ride and Canada falls behind on vaccination (1:07); Global's Kahla Evans on the return of winter weather (7:51); Grand Beach Club is back! Which clothing brand or trend would you like to see return, or not return? (11:38); A 'growing sense of dread' for Manitoba's COVID numbers (18:50); Downtown employment pre-pandemic and now 26:03); Weekly chat with Bob Irving (24:28); Hybrid working - as we work to get more people vaccinated, how many will actually return to the workplace? (42:12); Winning text on clothing trends (51:01); Twenty-two-year-old Manitoban offers warning about the variants and how bad they were - he got one! (52:06).

Peter Soliman, 22, recently posted on Instagram about his experience being one of the first young Manitobans to get the B-1-1-7 variant. He was extremely sick. Here's what he said in his Instagram post:

"This picture of me was taken before leaving the hospital. Not many of you know this but last month I got extremely sick with the Covid-19 B117 variant (aka the UK strain). 

I’m only writing this because I see many people who have never been touched by covid 19 starting to go back to normal and acting like the pandemic isn’t real or they’re just over it. 

I’m 22 years old, previously healthy, i eat well and I have been staying physically active. Before this, I always thought yenno I’m young, healthy and have no other medical conditions, this virus would be just like any flu; it wasn’t. 

The first week, I had very high fevers daily, my temperature would reach 40-41 degrees. My body felt like it ran a marathon and I barely got any sleep from the discomfort. 

I thought yenno its been a week in, I should start recovering now... but no. I developed pneumonia and my oxygen saturation dropped to 70%, if you don’t know what that number means ask someone who does seriously. 

I was bed bound and unable to get up to go to the bathroom. I was taken to the hospital not once but twice, and was told by a doctor my condition was worse than a 84 year old in the room next door with covid. 

These variants are serious, if you believe being young and healthy got you covered it doesn’t. 

I was one of the first young people in Manitoba to get it and I was told “we know nothing about this variant”, physicians were trying different med doses on me. 

So I want you to imagine being sick and everyday you’re being told physicians don’t know they just hope you get better. An ICU doctor came and talked with me to let me know that if tomorrow my condition got slightly worse they would have to take me to the ICU. 

I am not writing this for attention or sympathy, I am grateful and thank God everyday to be slowly recovering and trying to get back to my normal self; I am only writing this because I see how many people feel invincible, I see how many people are sick of watching the news and sick of the rules. 

This isn’t the time to let go of this, with few peopl vaccinated it’s up to each one of us to protect ourselves, the ones we love and take some pressure off the overworked healthcare workers"

Kate Fenske, CEO Downtown Winnipeg BIZ with results of a March 2021 Probe Research Omnibus survey

Dr. Gigi Osler is an ear, nose and throat specialist AND former president of the Canadian Medical Association

Dwight MacAulay, former Chief of Protocol for Manitoba