Jets captain Blake Wheeler calls on Manitoba Premier to make masks mandatory
Wheeler tagged Brian Pallister in a tweet saying 'Let's take care of each other.'
The Winnipeg Jets captain is calling out the Manitoba Premier on social media about the use of masks in this province. On Sunday morning Blake Wheeler tweeted at Brian Pallister, "Time for universal mask mandate. Why not? Let's take care of each other."
<a href="https://twitter.com/BrianPallister?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BrianPallister</a> time for universal mask mandate. Why not? Let’s take care of each other.
—@BiggieFunkeRight now masks or face coverings are only mandatory in Winnipeg city buildings, on Winnipeg Transit and in several businesses. Masks are also mandatory at the Brandon Municipal Airport and the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson Airport.
Wheeler's tweet has been received with mixed reaction from his followers. The Jets forward, who is originally from Minnesota, is no stranger to speaking his mind on Twitter.
Back in May, Wheeler joined a growing list of athletes speaking out on Twitter following the death of George Floyd.
In 2017 he tweeted at U.S. president Donald Trump about the rights of athletes who kneel during the national anthem.
The Province did not comment on the tweet itself, but in a statement to CBC a spokesperson for Premier Brian Pallister said "We have always and will continue to act on the advice of Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba's chief public health officer.
"We trust that our public health officials will continue to make the appropriate recommendations to protect the health and safety of Manitobans."
The number of COVID-19 cases in Manitoba have increased in recent weeks with the first outbreak at a Manitoba school last week.
18 new cases of COVID-19 were announced by the province on Saturday, 13 of those cases are in the Winnipeg health region. A total of 1,558 cases of COVID-19 has been detected in the province to date, and 16 people have died from the illness.