Kettner hopes that when others see the heart installation they will realize that these deaths are more than just numbers. “Why do we have to lose more parents and grandparents and kids and brothers and sisters, it’s ridiculous. Why isn’t our goal not to stop people from dying?” she said. Why it’s okay to just work toward keeping it safe in our hospitals and not overwhelming our hospitals. I can’t understand why this is what we’re doing. Kettner noted she doesn’t understand why the province is handling the pandemic the way it is.

“You realize that as we continue on the path that we’re on we’re just going to continue to lose more and more people,” she said.

Kettner said the memorial makes her sadder than she’s felt in a while, noting that people have become numb to the whole situation. “That’s a lot of people to have died in such a short period of time.” Kettner explained that each heart represents a person, and the hope is to have a heart for every person that’s died.Īt the time of Kettner’s interview 866 Manitobans had died from the disease, but this number has since grown to 871. All the people that have died,” said Shawn Kettner, a member of Communities Not Cuts, the group that organized the installation. “We thought it’s time that as Manitobans we had some way that we could come together and remember all of the people that we’ve lost to COVID-19. A new heart installation on the Assiniboine river walk is paying tribute to all the Manitobans who have died from COVID-19.

Heart Box instal