The City of Winnipeg is adding five libraries to the list of branches it’s partially reopening and increasing the services available to library goers amid COVID-19.
In late May the city said the Millennium Library as well as the Henderson and Pembina Trails Libraries would partially reopen with limited services starting June 8.
On Thursday the city added the Louis Riel, St. Boniface, St. James, Sir William Stephenson Library, and Transcona Libraries to the list and said they will now be starting a second phase of library reopening.
Under the city’s first phase of restored services the three libraries were restricted to only holds pick-up services, meaning library card holders will only be able to pick up materials put on hold through the library’s online catalogue or mobile app.
Under the second phase the city said telephone reference service will be added and library users will be allowed to return borrowed library materials.
The five additional libraries will partially reopen and the second phase will start June 22.
The city said all returned library materials will be quarantined for 72 hours before being returned to the shelf.
All city libraries were closed in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city also announced Thursday its annual bike auction will be held online this year due to the virus.
The unclaimed bicycle auction will take place starting June 24 through June 30 through Associate Auto Auction Ltd.
The city says there are roughly 700 bikes up for grabs this year.
A complete list of the available bikes is available for viewing online.
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.
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