Manitoba is loosening COVID-19 restrictions as early as this weekend.
Premier Brian Pallister says they have reached their vaccination goals faster than expected.
“Manitobans will be able to enjoy more freedoms with expanded indoor and outdoor activities,” states Pallister.
“Restrictions will be modified or eliminated altogether depending on the sector or activity and the associated level of risk,”
Pallister says they are making the move to open up because they have met their goals of having 80 percent of people over the age of 12 with one dose, and expects to have 75 with two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the next week.
Dr. Brent Roussin is the Chief Medical Officer of Health and says capacity limits and the mask mandate will be eliminated for most places in Manitoba on Saturday at 12:01 am, a month ahead of schedule.
“And so these sectors that will be open without restrictions are indoor and outdoor gatherings at private residences, gyms and fitness centers, libraries, personal services such as hair and nail salons.”
The provincial release outlines some of the guidelines including the elimination of all restrictions for the following:
• indoor and outdoor gatherings at private residences;
• gyms and fitness centers;
• libraries;
• personal services such as hair and nail salons;
• day camps; and
• retail businesses, markets, garden centers, and malls.
Other sectors will open with limited restrictions including:
• expanded capacity limits will remain in place for weddings, funerals and other public gatherings both indoors and outdoors including larger capacity limits for worship and cultural events like pow wows;
• restaurants and bars will no longer need to restrict the size or space between tables and dining will not be restricted to households or vaccinated individuals; however, patrons will still be expected to avoid congregating or socializing between tables;
• museums, galleries, and movie theatres will remain limited to 50 percent capacity but will no longer be restricted to vaccinated individuals;
• casinos and bingo halls, professional sporting events, horse and auto racing, and concert halls will continue to be limited to vaccinated individuals; however, all these facilities may now open to 100 percent capacity;
• indoor and outdoor sports and recreation will fully reopen with limits only on spectator capacity;
• overnight camps will be permitted with limits on camper cohorts;
• workplaces must continue to report cases to the government for follow-up and public health-confirmed transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace may result in workplaces being ordered to close for a minimum of 10 days; and
• remote working will no longer be required or recommended by public health and workplaces will be encouraged to transition from COVID-19 safety plans to a general communicable disease prevention plan that focuses on basic risk-reduction principles to reduce the risk of workplace transmission of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses.
Due to the ongoing presence of COVID-19 in Manitoba and elsewhere, and the extra risk posed by the more contagious delta variant, provincial public health officials strongly recommend the following:
• wearing masks in indoor public spaces for everyone who is not fully immunized including children under 12; and
• maintaining physical distancing of two meters (six feet) in indoor settings.
