Clearing up confusion on COVID health orders
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/12/2020 (1437 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Many Manitobans may be trying to find a safe — and lawful — way to visit their loved ones over the holiday season as the province enters another month of code-red restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19.
While Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief public health officer, has said repeatedly that people can only socialize with members of their households under the current public health orders, there has been some confusion on other orders, including rules surrounding outdoor gatherings.
Can you have a friend or family member in your backyard?
Can you visit with a friend outdoors if it’s outside your residence?
If you live alone, can you visit another person indoors?
Do you have to wear a mask outdoors?
Outdoor gatherings:
On Tuesday, Roussin said outdoor gatherings at people’s homes are not allowed if they are not from the same household.
“You couldn’t have people over that are not household members in your garage, you couldn’t have them in the back for a fire,” he said. “That all is your residence.”
However, gatherings of up to five people from different households are allowed outdoors, as long as it’s not on an individual’s personal property. That means socially distanced hikes or visits in a public park are allowed.
If you live alone:
The province has made an exception to its rule of only socializing with people in your household for Manitobans who live alone. Those individuals are allowed to pick one person to socialize with and can visit each other’s homes, both indoors and outdoors.
“Right now, the orders are if a person who lives alone, they can designate one person to come spend time with them. Not two, but one,” Roussin said Wednesday. “But it’s also the reciprocal of that, they can then visit that person in their household as well. That’s the strict interpretation of those orders.”
Mask use outdoors:
While Manitobans are required to wear a mask in indoor public places, masks are not mandatory outdoors, even if a person is on a walk with someone who isn’t a member of their household.
Eased restrictions:
Minor changes have been made to Manitoba’s public health orders that take effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
Drive-in events, such as church services, will be permitted as long as vehicle passengers are all from the same household and no one leaves the car during the event. The change comes after weeks of controversy and the levying of fines against individuals and institutions who flouted the rules.
Thrift stores will be allowed to open with some limits in recognition that those with lower incomes may be unfairly impacted by current health orders.
In a nod to the holiday season, retail items such as garlands and ornaments and religious items, such as menorahs and candles, can now be purchased.
kellen.taniguchi@freepress.mb.ca
