Winnipeg, Northern Manitoba schools under new restrictions today

New restrictions for some Manitoba schools Schools in the Winnipeg Metro region and northern Manitoba started new COVId-19 prevention restrictions on Monday.

WINNIPEG — Schools in Winnipeg and Northern Manitoba will be under new restrictions beginning Monday, Oct. 26.

The Manitoba government announced the measures on Thursday, Oct. 22, noting the rules are due to the rising number of cases in the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region, as well as Northern Manitoba.

The restrictions will remain in place as long as these two regions are under the orange or restricted level on the province’s pandemic response system.

Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, noted Manitoba has seen minimal COVID-19 transmission in schools.

“We are seeing, though, widespread community transmission, so this increases the amount of cases we see in school, even though they’re not acquired in school,” he said.

The new measures for schools include:

Under these new restrictions, extracurricular activities are only permitted if all learning and distancing requirements are met. For sports, distance must be maintained when participants aren’t playing. Indoor choirs and the use of wind instruments aren’t allowed.

Schools must also postpone or cancel all field trips.

All remaining public health orders for schools are still in effect.

MORE RESTRICTIONS FOR THE NORTH

On Thursday, Oct.22, the province also announced it’s tightening restrictions for the Northern Health Region, as well as Churchill.

These new rules come into effect on Monday, Oct.26 and will remain in place for at least two weeks.

The new restrictions for these regions include:

Roussin said these new rules are due to rising case numbers, increased test positivity and increased community transmission.

- With files from CTV’s Charles Lefebvre.