On October 30 the government of Manitoba announced province-wide changes to its #RestartMB Pandemic Response System in response to the surge of confirmed COVID-19 cases and the increasing test positivity rate.
Notably, such changes would move the Winnipeg Metro Region into the critical (red) level, and the Southern Health–Santé Sud, Prairie Mountain Health and Interlake–Eastern Health regions into the restricted (orange) level.
UPDATE: On November 2, the Premier of Manitoba, Brian Pallister, strongly encouraged Manitobans to reduce their close contacts by 75% for the month of November and proposed to introduce a curfew for the Winnipeg region, subject to public consultations via engagemb.ca. Premier Pallister further indicated that the province would be increasing enforcement measures later this week and possibly expanding support programs for businesses.
On November 2, the Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, announced that where an individual with symptoms of COVID-19 is required to self-isolate, all members of that individual's household must also self-isolate pending results of the COVID-19 testing. Dr. Roussin indicated his understanding that this expanded self-isolation measure will result in greater absenteeism in workplaces in the interim. Further, any individual self-isolating in a household with more than one household member must self-isolate away from all members of that household to the greatest extent possible, for instance by staying in their own room and using their own bathroom.
New public health orders were issued for the City of Winnipeg and surrounding areas on November 1 (the "Updated Capital Region Orders"), which can be accessed here. Effective 12:01 a.m. on Monday, November 2 the City of Winnipeg and surrounding areas have moved into the critical (red) level of the province's pandemic response system, and will remain in the critical (red) level until 12:01 a.m. on November 16, subject to extension and further public health orders.
In addition to the above noted changes for the Winnipeg Metro Region, employers, including the public service, are encouraged to have employees work from home wherever possible.
As the Winnipeg Metro Region moves to the restricted (red) level, the following measures remain unchanged:
- public and private group gathering sizes remain at five, however, the province has indicated that limiting contacts from outside one's household is strongly encouraged;
- no changes for grocery stores and pharmacies, which may continue to operate at 50% capacity;
- no changes for schools: blended learning for grades 9 to 12, voluntary blended learning temporarily available for kindergarten to grade 8, and encouraging as much physical distancing as possible;
- casinos remain closed; and
- no change for personal services and maintaining 50% capacity remains.
UPDATE: New public health orders were also issued for all regions outside of the Winnipeg Metro Region on November 1 (the "Updated General Orders"), which can be accessed here. Joining the Northern Health Region, the Southern Health–Santé Sud, Prairie Mountain Health and Interlake–Eastern Health regions moved to the restricted (orange) level effective 12:01 a.m. on Monday, November 2, and will remain in the restricted (orange) level until 12:01 a.m. on November 16, subject to extension and further public health orders..
The Updated General Orders further terminate the following previous orders made under The Public Health Act:
- the Little Grand Rapids COVID-19 Prevention Orders made on October 8;
- the Capital Region COVID-19 Prevention Orders made on October 19;
- the General COVID-19 Prevention Orders made on October 23; and
- the Northern Manitoba COVID-19 Prevention Orders made on October 23.
Individuals and employers need to take necessary steps to ensure compliance with orders made under The Public Health Act and The Emergency Measures Act. The province made amendments to the Preset Fines and Offence Descriptions Regulation (PFODR) under The Provincial Offences Act to allow enforcement officers to issue tickets with set fines for failure to comply with the emergency orders. Effective October 21, total fine amounts have been set at $1,296 for tickets issued to individuals, including sole proprietorships and partnerships, and $5,000 for tickets issued to corporations.
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