When you just have to stare in disbelief.
RM with lowest vaccination rate encouraging big gatherings 'We're just pretending the pandemic is over': worried resident
A Manitoba municipality with the lowest vaccination rate in the province is encouraging its residents to gather in big groups at neighbourhood block parties.
The Rural Municipality of Stanley launched a block party program this year, which provides residents with free party packages including invitations, outdoor games kits and coupons for food.
"It is time to get the community together! The RM of Stanley council wants to encourage community building by assisting with neighbourhood block parties!" the brochure reads.
The four-page document includes an application form and hosting requirements, which calls on residents to make a "reasonable attempt" to invite everyone in the neighbourhood.
The brochure includes only a brief mention of COVID-19 and provincial regulations about the pandemic.
Stanley has the lowest COVID-19 immunization rate of any health district in Manitoba. As of Wednesday, 21.8 per cent of eligible residents had their first dose, and just 19.4 had their second. Nearby Winkler has the second-lowest vaccination rate in the province, with 34.5 per cent of residents fully vaccinated. Comparatively, several Manitoba health districts are reporting vaccine rates that exceed 80 per cent.
According to the municipality, interest in the block parties has been strong.
This doesn’t sit well with RM of Stanley resident Ashley Hoitink, who said she was shocked when her husband received the brochure via email on Aug. 9.
"To me, it’s like we’re just pretending the pandemic is over. I don’t know, if I was the lowest-vaccinated RM, I would be sending out emails reminding my community members that they could still get vaccinated," she told the
Free Press Thursday.
"Not, ‘Hey, why don’t you gather when it’s likely given the statistics that a high percentage of you are unvaccinated?’"
Hoitink, a 32-year-old teacher and new mom, said she doesn’t remember the RM advertising block parties in the past, and she believes it’s a pointed message from council to its constituents.
"I think they’re making their point pretty clear if they’re focusing on block parties instead of vaccination rates," she said.
She’s reached out to the RM of Stanley about the initiative, but hasn’t heard back.
Stanley Reeve Morris Olafson did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
A Manitoba municipality with the lowest vaccination rate in the province is encouraging its residents to gather in big groups at neighbourhood block parties. The Rural Municipality of Stanley launched...
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