COVID-19 Update: Public Health Orders to end in Manitoba

The province of Manitoba announced this week that it will be taking another step toward fully reopening as part of the province’s 4-3-2 One Great Summer Path to Reopen plan. On Tuesday it was announced that with the current high rates of vaccination, new public health orders will come into effect on August 7, one month earlier than originally planned.

The new public health orders will allow for many sectors to reopen - and without restrictions.

Removal of provincial mask mandate

As part of the new orders, mask-wearing will not be required. However, it’s strongly recommended that those who are not fully immunized (including children under 12) continue to wear masks. Businesses will be able to determine mask-wearing requirements on their premises.

It is still recommended that a physical distance of two metres is kept in all indoor public places.

Changes for businesses

With these changes, many businesses will now be able to fully reopen without any restrictions. There are no longer any restrictions on indoor and outdoor private gatherings or for retail businesses, markets, and malls.

Many of the restrictions on food businesses, like restaurants, cafes and bars, have also been lifted. These include:

• no capacity limits
• separation between tables is no longer required
• no group limits on indoor and outdoor dining services
• immunization cards will not be required to access services
• no restrictions on operating hours

However, restrictions that are still in place include:

• guests must remain seated as much as possible
• guests should maintain a two-meter distance whenever they are away from the table
• staff must ensure guests do not congregate inside or outside of the premises
• there is to be no socializing between tables
• dance floors remain closed and sound levels must remain limited below 80-decibel levels

Changes for events and larger venues

There will be no changes for indoor weddings and funerals and they will continue to be limited to 50 people or 50 percent of the capacity of the venue, whichever is greater. Dance floors will remain closed and activities that encourage close gathering are not recommended. Outdoor gatherings for weddings and funerals and religious or cultural services are limited to 1,500 people or 50 percent of capacity, whichever is less.

Casinos and bingo halls, professional sporting events, concert halls and horse and auto racing facilities will now be allowed to open at 100 percent capacity but limited to vaccinated individuals.

The capacity limit at museums, galleries and movie theatres will stay at 50 percent but these facilities will not be restricted to vaccinated people.

These public health orders will be in effect until September 7.