The City of Winnipeg says it will be recalling nearly 200 city employees temporarily laid off as a result of COVID-19 as provincial health officials announced a seventh-straigh day with no cases Tuesday.
Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman said the move comes as the city prepares to partially re-open all city libraries and two indoor city pools.
Bowman says all libraries with the exception of the Cornish Library, which is undergoing renovations, should be partially open by the end of July or early August. Under the partial opening the branches will be open for holds pick-up service, reference service by phone, and to return borrowed materials.
In addition to the reopening of libraries, Bowman said both the Cindy Klassen Recreation Complex and the Pan Am Pool will reopen — with limited access — starting July 20.
The two facilities will operate with limited access to fitness equipment, walking tracks, and pools.
The city said the reopening of the indoor pools will build on systems created for outdoor pools, including requiring pre-registered bookings for the pool and fitness areas, reduced capacity, and increased cleaning schedules.
More information about how to register to use the indoor pools will be released in the coming days, the city says.
A release from the city said roughly 195 community services department employees have been recalled to prepare for the resumption of the additional city services.
The recall is in addition to 400 employees the department recalled in June, the city said.
The city has been slowly reopening library branches — with limited services — since they were shut down, along with all city-owned and operated recreation centres and pools back in March due to COVID-19.
In April the city announced 674 non-permanent staff working at the city-owned and -operated rec centres, pools, arenas and libraries that were closed would be temporarily laid off.
Fed back on visitation shelters wanted
Another day of no new cases in Manitoba means the province’s total number of lab-confirmed positive and probable cases of COVID-19 remains at 325.
Health officials say there are currently 11 active cases and no one is currently in hospital or intensive care as a result of the virus.
Since March 307 people have recovered and seven Manitobans have died from the virus.
On Tuesday Manitoba health officials asked Manitobans to weigh in on plans to build protected, outdoor visitation shelters at personal care homes.
Last month the province said it was working towards building outdoor, all-season shelters near personal care homes, so family and friends can visit during the COVID-19 outbreak.
An online survey has been set up for anyone who wants to provide feedback on design requirements for the shelters related to physical distancing protocols, personal protective equipment, frequency of use and ways to support quality visits.
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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