A day after the province introduced the new colour coded COVID response system, they have elevated the entire Prairie Mountain Health region to the “orange” risk category.
This means public health will be reintroducing some restrictions effective Monday, which includes:
- Group size will be reduced to 10 individuals for both indoor and outdoor settings
- Masks will be made mandatory for indoor public places, as well as any public gatherings
- Additional measures to be announced
Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief public health officer, explains the blanket restrictions for the entire Prairie Mountain Health region is a response to an increasing number of clusters, high positivity rate, and reports of large gatherings.
Which places are affected by the new measures?
Dr. Roussin says the 10 person limit on indoor & outdoor gatherings applies to events like weddings, funerals, and family get-togethers.
It doesn’t apply to workplaces, and retail places — or any other establishment that already has specific public health orders outlines. Guidelines and limits for religious ceremonies will be unaffected by Monday’s new measures.
The province's top doctor says this could affect return to schools next month.
How long will these measures be in place?
Roussin explains there is a 14 incubation period for this virus, so any measures implemented will take some time to cause a drop in case numbers.
He expects orders like these to “definitely be in place for a minimum of a single incubation period (14 days) — much more likely at least two incubation periods or longer, depending on the response we see.”
“This virus is spread from close prolonged contact, so we need to increase that level of restriction right now before things get out of hand,” says Dr. Roussin.
This comes today as the province added 33 new cases of COVID-19 — seventeen of which are in the PMH region.
None of today’s new cases are in the Dauphin health district, where there continues to be a total of 7 cases, two of which are active.
