This morning the Province of Manitoba announced the next steps of its cautious reopening plan. The new plan comes into effect on FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12TH AT 12:01 AM, and will last for three weeks.
The Pas & District Chamber of Commerce is pleased with the recent announcement from the Province easing restrictions on the northern region. “The announcement brings the North in alignment with southern businesses and allows some of our members to resume business, and this is a great thing,” stated Alan McLauchlan, Vice-President of The Pas & District Chamber of Commerce.
The orders will formalize the following changes for all of Manitoba, replacing the General COVID-19 Prevention Orders made on January 28th and the Northern Manitoba COVID-19 Prevention Orders made on February 1, 2021.
The orders include the following changes, with further pandemic safety measures in place:
- allowing restaurants and licensed premises to reopen at 25 per cent capacitywith patron groups limited to members of the same householdonly;
- allowing gyms, fitness centres and yoga studios to reopen at 25 per centcapacity;
- allowing indoor sporting facilities as rinks, gymnastic clubs and martial arts studios to reopen at 25 per cent capacity for individual instructiononly;
- allowing museums, art galleries and libraries to operate at 25 per centcapacity;
- allowing personal service businesses, such as those providing pedicures,electrolysis, cosmetic application, tanning, tattooing or massage services to reopen at 25 per cent capacity;
- allowing photographers and videographers to offer services to individual clients or thoseresidinginthesamehouseholdinadditiontoprovidingservicesatweddings,with the exception of visiting clienthomes
The new orders also bring the entire province under the same restrictions, where the northern region had previously been under separate orders to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the region. Under the new orders, northern Manitoba will see the changes listed above in addition to the restrictions in place over the last three weeks for the rest of the province including:
- household visitor restrictions of up to two designatedpeople,
- visits of five people plus members of a household on an outdoor privateproperty,
- retail stores open at 25 per cent capacity or 250 people maximum withadequate physical distancing,and
Chamber President Jill Wilkinson appreciates the effort that people in The Pas/OCN/Kelsey have made in helping to reduce the number of active Covid cases, and encourages the community to keep following the protocols.
Please remember to wear a mask, wash/sanitize your hands, cover your cough, stay home if sick, physically distance when outside the household, and reduce your number of contacts outside the house.
For up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Manitoba, visit www.manitoba.ca/COVID19.
