Manitoba鈥檚 COVID-19 reopening will take another step forward this weekend.
Premier Brian Pallister announced June 17 that June 21 would be the starting date for phase three of the province鈥檚 reopening.
After thousands of Manitobans filled out an online survey and after consultation with industries, Pallister said some tweaks were made to the proposed phase three plan unveiled last week.
Occupancy limits inside restaurants and retail stores were removed, but requirements for physical distancing will still be in place. Events will be limited to 30 per cent of the venue鈥檚 capacity, provided attendees can be restricted to groups of 50 or less indoors or 100 or less outdoors.
Travel restrictions to northern Manitoba will stay in place. As has been the case throughout the outbreak, northerners are allowed (but are advised not) to travel within the north and are able to travel into southern Manitoba and back home for essential services. Southern Manitoba residents are not allowed to travel into the north unless it is for essential work or for going to a cabin, campsite or similar location. Pallister said the province would work to ensure those travelling to Manitoba鈥檚 north would respect local rules related to the pandemic.
Any travellers coming into northern Manitoba will also be subject to any restrictions put in place by communities or First Nations.
General non-essential travel to northern Manitoba is still prohibited by public health orders. Health officials also recommend against any non-essential travel from northern Manitoba to the south. Canadians living in western provinces and territories will not be required to self-isolate for two weeks after entering Manitoba, along with Ontario residents living west of the town of Terrace Bay.
Non-Manitobans allowed to come into the province will also be allowed to directly travel to northern Manitoba lodges and campgrounds.聽
鈥淲e're hopeful that this is a measure that we can relax a little bit,鈥� Pallister said.
鈥淭hat will provide some real opportunities also for small businesses that have been restricted very much up to now.鈥�
Pallister warned if COVID-19 numbers take a turn for the worse, phase three measures could be paused and previously lifted public health orders could be reintroduced.
鈥淲hile we can take pride in the progress that we have made and the additional steps we're announcing today, we must remain vigilant,鈥� he said.聽
鈥淎s we move forward in our recovery efforts, we'll continue to review the data and rely on the advice of our healthcare experts.鈥�
Phase three of the reopening plan also calls for lifting self-isolation requirements on a case-by-case basis for workers in certain industries. Manitoba has already waived the requirement for professional athletes and film crews travelling into the province. Provincial health orders still require those travellers to self-isolate before coming into Manitoba.
Pallister didn鈥檛 say whether or not there would be a fourth phase of Manitoba reopening or when it may go into effect. He added the province would always wait at least four weeks in between any major changes.
鈥淲e'll need a couple of incubation periods, I expect, for almost all of this - that's at least a month,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e'll be undertaking to follow our progress, monitor it, as we are in other jurisdictions to make the right decisions going forward. We'll do that carefully with health as the first concern.鈥�
Earlier in the day, the province announced it had detected two new cases of COVID-19, both in Winnipeg. The province is tracking six active cases.
