The Manitoba government has decided to make only relatively minor changes to COVID-19 public health orders, citing concerns over rising variant case numbers and the need to keep stability in the province’s health-care system.
Last week Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister said the province was considering changes to future public health orders that could have included allowing big indoor venues, such as concert venues, theatres and casinos, to reopen with capacity limits.
But on Tuesday Manitoba’s chief public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, said the government is taking a more cautious approach when current public health orders expire later this week.
“We are carefully monitoring our hospitalization data and case numbers of cases linked to variants of concern to ensure that as we gradually reopen, we continue to have capacity in the system,” said Roussin.
“That said, we are going to see more cases and more exposures as we slowly reopen. COVID-19 will be here to stay for awhile, and we need to work together to manage its effects and protect our most vulnerable.”
Under the new public health orders, which start at 12:01 a.m. Friday, all of Manitoba will remain under red, or critical, on the province’s pandemic response system.
The only changes to current orders include:
- increasing gathering limits at outdoor public places to 25 from 10 people;
- increasing gathering limits at weddings and funerals to 25 from 10 people;
- maintaining the capacity limits for retail stores at 50 per cent, but expanding the in-store limits to a 500-person capacity, whichever is lower, with other public health measures still in effect; and
- relaxing rules for drive-in events to allow people to leave their vehicles while still observing public health measures.
The new orders do not include changes to limits on indoor or outdoor gathering sizes at homes or in restaurants.
Changes proposed last week that could have seen some domestic travellers no longer required to isolate for 14 days are also not included in the new orders.
The government had asked Manitobans to weigh in on the potential changes using an online survey.
“At every step of the way throughout this pandemic, we’ve endeavored to reach out directly to Manitobans to get their input and perspectives on a variety of measures and their comfort level with learning to live with this virus,” said Pallister.
“As more Manitobans get back to doing some of the activities they love and have missed over the past few months, it is crucial that we continue to follow the fundamentals and avoid the activities that are known to cause the greatest risk.”
The new public health orders will remain in place until April 15.
Roussin said additional changes to the orders may be considered after spring break, Passover, and Easter, but only if numbers support reopening further.
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. In some provinces and municipalities across the country, masks or face coverings are now mandatory in indoor public spaces.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, visit our coronavirus page.
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