Retail stores, hairstylists and barbers, museums and libraries will be allowed to reopen as of May 4 as Manitoba starts gradually loosening public health restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dental offices, physiotherapists and non-urgent health care services are also part of the first phase of restoring services unveiled April 29 by Premier Brian Pallister, who said elective surgeries and diagnostic procedures will also resume.
“This is not an announcement about a return to normal right away,” said Pallister. “It won’t be business as usual for now. It will be a new normal.”
Travel restrictions and self-isolating requirements for people returning to Manitoba from out of the province will remain in place during the first stage of the roadmap towards reopening the economy, as will the ban on gatherings of more than 10 people, though that may be raised to 25 people as early as mid-May, depending on the effect the first phase has on the number of novel coronavirus cases in the province.
There are no plans at this time to reopen schools, the premier said.
During the first phase of the loosened restrictions, restaurants with patios will be allowed to serve customers while observing physical distancing guidelines.
Outdoor recreation areas such as playgrounds, parks and campgrounds will also start to reopen, though there may be limits on the number of campers.
The second phase of the reopening plan currently scheduled to begin June 1 anticipates allowing dine-in services to resume at restaurants and to allow non-contact children’s sports, though those timelines are contingent on the first phase not resulting in significantly increased numbers of COVID-19 cases.
“We just cannot afford to have a big upswing in the number of COVID cases,” said Pallister, who believes there might be a rise from current levels as a result of testing criteria having expanded to include all people with symptoms like runny noses, coughs, sore throats and fever.
The full plan for safely restoring services can be viewed at https://www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/restoring/approach.html.
