As Manitoba continues to report a decline in new COVID-19 cases, the City of Winnipeg is gearing up to fully reopen libraries.
The province reported no new deaths connected to COVID-19 and 39 new cases Friday, including 15 in Winnipeg, where officials said libraries will reopen by July 26.
The move to reopen city libraries follows the province’s decision to loosen public health orders around COVID-19 starting Saturday.
Among the changes announced earlier this week, indoor gatherings will be allowed for up to five people in addition to those who live in a household, and 25 people in indoor public spaces. Outdoor gatherings are expanded to 25 people on private property and 150 in public spaces.
While the new rules include extra freedoms for people who have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine — including being allowed in museums, casinos, and movie theatres — the orders allow everyone to return to libraries regardless of vaccination status.
Jason Shaw, who heads up the city’s emergency operations centre, says the city needs a few extra days to get libraries up and running, although all staff have already been called back to work.
City libraries were closed early on during the pandemic and have slowly been returning services, including allowing contactless pickup service since May.
Shaw said Friday nearly all services — including the opportunity for Winnipeggers to browse through books in libraries — will be returning.
“We’re looking forward to having folks come in and check out their books,” said Shaw.
Shaw said the city is also opening up Winnipeg Transit for all riders under the latest provincial health orders.
Up until now the city had recommended only those needing to take the bus for essential reasons use Winnipeg Transit.
With the new rules around outdoor gathering sizes, Shaw said the city will begin taking reservations for gatherings of up to 150 people at city-owned parks starting July 19. He said reservations will be made on a first-come first-served basis.
Manitoba’s five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate fell below 3.0 per cent for the first time in months. It currently stands at 2.9 per cent provincially and 2.7 per cent in Winnipeg, according to provincial health data.
Health officials said as of Friday 120 Manitobans are hospitalized as a result of COVID-19. Of those 27 are in ICU, including one who is receiving care in Ontario.
There are currently 958 active cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba, including 630 that have been confirmed to be variants of concern.
Since the pandemic began, 1,164 Manitobans with COVID-19 have died and the province has reported 57,065 cases of the virus.
–With files from The Canadian Press
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.
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