On February 4, the Government of Manitoba announced its proposed next stage re-opening plan, and encouraged feedback from all Manitobans on their Engage survey platform. The proposed changes would come into effect next week for all of Manitoba, and would replace the current public health orders set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 12.
To provide your input on the proposed changes to the orders, visit https://engagemb.ca/.
The province is considering the following changes for all of Manitoba:
- allowing food services, including restaurants and lounges, to reopen at 25 per cent capacity with closure time of 10 p.m., limited to patron groups of household members;
- allowing personal services, including nail salons and tattoo parlours, to reopen at 25 per cent capacity with adequate physical distancing, enhanced personal protective equipment measures and requirements to collect information for contact tracing purposes.
- allowing gyms to reopen at 25 per cent capacity for one-on-one and individual training sessions with adequate physical distancing, with no group classes;
- allowing places of worship to reopen at a maximum of 10 per cent capacity or 50 people, whichever is lower;
- allowing libraries to reopen at a maximum of 25 per cent capacity, limited to patron groups of household members;
- allowing organized outdoor sports to resume for games or practices (no multi-team tournaments);
- clarifying that addictions support and treatment groups can operate with adequate physical distancing measures in place;
- allowing the film industry to resume work, with safety protocols in place;
- opening public washroom facilities with 25 per cent capacity and enhanced signage;
- increasing capacity for weddings to up to 10 people in addition to the officiant and photographer; and
- allowing photographers to resume operations outdoors and with studio capacity limited to patron groups of household members only.
“We’re in a stable place right now – our data is not showing evidence of a spike as a result of the reopening measures put in place Jan. 23. However, the next few weeks will be crucial to determine whether any COVID-19 variants have entered Manitoba and their impacts,” said Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s Chief Provincial Public Health Officer. “Of course, the fundamentals – including physical distancing, frequent handwashing, mask wearing and staying home when sick – still apply, and are what will help us gradually reopen more activities and services when it is safe to do so.”
The proposed plan enables the northern region to observe restrictions the rest of the province will continue to have in place including household visitor restrictions of up to two designated people, visits of five people plus members of a household on an outdoor private property, retail stores open at 25 per cent capacity or 250 people maximum with adequate physical distancing and non-regulated health services, as well as hair salons and barbershops open with 25 per cent capacity and adequate physical distancing.
