Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister speaks during a news conference at the legislature, in Winnipeg, on March 30, 2020.JOHN WOODS/The Canadian Press
The Manitoba government is postponing the province’s 150th birthday bash until next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is warning that some limit on public gatherings is likely to be in place well into summer.
Premier Brian Pallister announced Wednesday that all remaining public events marking the anniversary of the province’s entry into Confederation in 1870 are off until 2021.
“The reality is that this is not the time right now for celebration” Pallister said.
“This is a time to stay home. This is a time … to take every possible precaution to protect ourselves and our loved ones, and to protect those we may not even know.”
Events had been planned in communities around Manitoba through 2020, including a free outdoor concert in Winnipeg featuring hometown rockers Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman on June 27.
Provincial funding for the events is to remain in place for next year, the government said.
The announcement came on a day of relatively positive news in the province’s fight against the novel coronavirus. Only four new cases were reported, bringing the total to 221. The cumulative number of people who have recovered from the virus jumped to 69 from 21 the previous day, so the number of active cases dropped.
Dr. Brent Roussin, chief public health officer, cautioned that while the numbers may seem encouraging, the virus is still in its early stages in Manitoba. He said he expects the numbers to continue to grow and urged people not to gather for Easter or Passover this weekend if not living in the same household.
“I feel that this weekend is very critical,” Roussin said.
“There’s going to be that urge to gather in large groups … I need to make it very clear that now is not the time for that.”
A public health order set to expire later this month prohibits non-essential stores from opening and caps public gatherings at 10 people. Roussin said the government is considering further reducing the 10-person maximum.
He said he expects some form of limit on public activities to continue through July and August, but it’s too early to say what the rules might be. Many provincial campgrounds are to open May 8, but Roussin hinted that might not happen.
“Based on what we’re seeing right now, non-essential things are not going to occur. That’s all I can say. What it’ll look like in a month from now or two months from now – difficult to say.”
Manitoba politicians are to return to the legislature next Wednesday with one-third of each caucus present to ensure social distancing. Discussions are to include emergency health expenditures as well as new enforcement methods to crack down on people who do not obey bans on large gatherings.
The province’s Public Health Act already allows for fines of up to $50,000 and jail sentences of up to six months but, unlike some other provinces, fines have not been issued to date.
Pallister said that’s going to change, but he did not provide specifics.
“There is a real need for people to get the message, and sometimes hitting the pocketbook is the way you do that,” he said.
“We have to (set) up an enforcement mechanism that can work, that is designed around this pandemic.”
While the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, many frontline health-care workers are forced to isolate as they care for patients infected with the virus. See how Dr. Kanna Vela is coping with being away from her family as she treats patients in Ajax and Scarborough, Ontario hospitals.
The Globe and Mail
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