Safety officers heading to Manitoba beaches amid COVID-19, no new cases reported Thursday

Health officials say safety officers are being deployed to three popular Manitoba beaches to make sure beach-goers are staying safe while enjoying the sun amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The safety officers will be patrolling the beaches in Birds Hill, Winnipeg Beach, and Grand Beach Provincial Parks starting Thursday, the province said in a release.

The news comes as health officials reported no new cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba Thursday, leaving the province’s total number of lab-confirmed positive and probable cases at 298.

While provincial parks and beaches are open to the public, health officials are warning those heading into the great outdoors physical distancing rules remain in place, and beach-goers should keep at least four metres of separation between each group’s towels and blanket on the beach.

They also recommend bringing your own life jackets and personal flotation devices as the province’s life-jacket loaner program has been suspended to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

The province says there are currently seven active cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba and no one is in hospital or intensive care because of the virus.

To date 284 people have recovered from COVID-19, the province says.

There have been 46,701 tests for the virus completed across the province since early February, health officials say, with 899 done on Wednesday.

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Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.

To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus.

For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.