WINNIPEG – Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler is calling on the Province to make wearing face masks mandatory. Tagging Premier Brian Pallister in a Tweet Sunday morning, the 34-year-old hockey right winger from Robbinsdale, Minnesota asked of a universal mask rule, “Why not? Let’s take care of each other.” Currently face coverings are only required in government buildings and busses and some businesses. Pallister’s office stated they’re basing their decisions on the advice of chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin.

Wheeler’s post on the contentious issue sparked some expected backlash, after previous tweets on other current events had already sparked heated comments. When one Twitter user called Wheeler a “moron” for RTing a post about a police shooting without “fact checking” it, Wheeler responded, “I may be a moron, but I’m still going to wear a mask to make sure I keep people like you safe.”

Last week, Manitoba surpassed 1,500 total COVID-19 cases – but 1,216 of them recovered. It saw 29 new cases yesterday, for a total of 354 active cases. Currently 11 are in hospital, three of them in ICU. On average, over 1,200 Manitobans get tested every day, with 1.9% of them testing positive.