New health measures for Winnipeg and Northern Manitoba starting Oct. 26

WINNIPEG (CityNews) – The province of Manitoba has announced 147 new cases of COVID-19 and four new deaths.

Three of the deaths were in the Winnipeg health region with two being linked to the outbreak at Parkview Place. The other death was a man in his 80s from the Interlake-Eastern health region.

Since Wednesday, Manitoba completed 2,200 tests, bringing the provincial total to 233,222 since early February.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 5.6 per cent and the 147 new cases bring the number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba to 3,773.

Today’s data shows:

• seven cases in Prairie Mountain Health region;
• 10 cases in the Interlake–Eastern health region;
• 10 cases in the Northern health region;
• 33 cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region; and
• 87 cases in the Winnipeg health region.

Currently in Manitoba, 1,806 of those cases are still active. Forty-two people are in hospital and eight are in intensive care.

The chief provincial health officer is issuing new COVID-19 health orders for the Winnipeg and Northern health regions starting Oct. 26, including:

• Schools must ensure two metres of physical distancing to the greatest extent possible, and adjust classroom space as necessary; excess furniture must be removed from classrooms to create additional space; and other spaces within schools must be repurposed to accommodate more distancing (e.g., multipurpose rooms, empty rooms, shared spaces, common areas and libraries).
• Extracurricular activities are only permitted if all learning and distancing requirements have been met. If these activities continue, established guidelines must be followed and, in the case of sports, participants should maintain distance when not active.
• Teachers and staff who move across cohorts of students, including substitute teachers, are required to wear medical masks. Medical-grade disposable masks have been issued to all schools. N95 masks are not required.
• Indoor choir and the use of wind instruments are not permitted.
• All field trips must be postponed or cancelled.
• Blended learning (in-class and online) for grades 9 to 12 where distancing cannot be achieved will continue as per status quo.
• Kindergarten to Grade 8 students may be offered a temporary remote learning option for the duration of the Restricted level (orange).
• All other public health measures will still in effect.

There will also be new restrictions put in place in the the Northern health region and Churchill, including:

• Reducing gathering sizes;
• Closing of casinos, bingo halls and entertainment facilities with a license under the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act that requires the licensee to present live entertainment must close to members of the public, with the exception of providing food for take-out or delivery;
• Limiting the occupancy of other licensed businesses, retail businesses and restaurants of 50 per cent of their usual capacity;
• Limiting the occupancy of personal service businesses of 50 per cent of their usual occupancy or one person for each 10 square metres of the premises that is open to the public, whichever is less; and
• Requiring a restaurant or licensed premises, theatre, museum, gallery, library, personal service business, concert hall, or fitness facility to keep contact information for members of the public attending their premises and maintain those records for 21 days to support contract tracing.

There are two new outbreaks in the province, while the government says one of the ongoing outbreaks is done.

The new outbreaks are at Arborgate School in La Broquerie and the Ochekwi Sipi Personal Care Home in the Fisher River Cree Nation. Both are at the orange alert level.

The outbreak at Bethesda Place personal care home has been declared over by the province.