Manitoba plans to ease restrictions

WINNIPEG— The Manitoba government is putting the finishing touches on a plan to loosen restrictions connected to the COVID-19 pandemic, but is warning that large public gatherings will not be permitted any time soon.

“What I’m going to be telling you next week is ... a game plan that we can follow — provided that we don’t place additional unnecessary risks on our population — to get our economy and our social life back on track,” Premier Brian Pallister said Wednesday.

The province’s chief public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, said the plan will include a gradual lifting of restrictions. Some non-essential businesses will be allowed to reopen and a 10-person limit on public gatherings might be raised in the near future, he said.

Pallister said church services and dine-in restaurants might be able to restart at some point.

But it is clear that large crowds, including public attendance at major sporting events, are a long way off.

There have been a relatively low number of cases in Manitoba compared with other provinces.

Roussin announced two new cases for a total of 257 since the pandemic began. With more people recovering than testing positive, the number of active cases fell to 97.