More vaccination requirements, new gathering limits take effect Tuesday in Manitoba

More public health orders kicked in for Manitobans on Tuesday, including lower gathering limits and the requirement to show proof of double vaccination in order to visit additional public spaces.

Vaccination cards or QR codes are now required to enter museums and galleries in the province, while dine-in patrons at food courts must comply with the same rule. Proof does not need to be shown for takeout orders.

Wedding receptions in licensed premises are subject to the same vaccination rule as of Tuesday, including for all guests.

Weddings also must adhere to new gathering limits.

The maximum number of people now allowed at outdoor gatherings drops to 500 from 1,500, including at fairs and festivals.

The limit for indoor gatherings in public spaces remains unchanged at 50 people, or 50 per cent capacity, whichever is greater.

The requirements that came into effect Tuesday are the second part of a two-phase implementation of public health orders.

New vaccination requirements came into effect Sept. 3 for a wide variety of businesses and services deemed non-essential, such as restaurants, gyms, movie theatres, casinos and nightclubs, as well as indoor and outdoor ticketed sporting events and concerts.

Dr. Jazz Atwal, Manitoba's acting deputy chief public health officer, was asked Tuesday when Manitoba might start seeing the infection rate of the fourth wave start spiking in the province as it has in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

That greatly depends on the behaviour of Manitobans, coupled with vaccine uptake, he said.

Those other provinces with higher case numbers and higher ICU and hospital admissions opened up more quickly and widely at a time when less of the population was vaccinated, Atwal said.

"So they are sort of leading that script of what is or potentially could happen," he said. In Alberta and B.C., ICU admissions in the past month have increased sixfold, while they have tripled in Saskatchewan, Atwal said.

In Manitoba, case counts remain low and vaccine uptake continues to improve, he said.

"If Manitoba continues to adhere to the [public health] orders and partake in case and contact management … that all bodes well for potentially where we would be in a few weeks' time," he said.

The reopening of schools means more interactions between people, and a jump in cases is expected, but "how bad that fourth wave could get" is hard to predict, he said.

"We have good restrictions in place. We have essentially limited ability for unvaccinated people to intermingle in close setting indoors. We'll have to see what happens on a week-to-week basis and see how Manitobans continue to take that vaccine."

Of the 36 new COVID-19 cases announced on Tuesday, 29 were not fully vaccinated, the province said in a release.

As of Saturday, 82.9 per cent of eligible Manitobans have at least one dose against COVID-19 while 77.9 per cent have received two doses, according to the province's online vaccine dashboard.

The current health order states that exceptions to the vaccination requirement can be made for people who can show proof from the government of Manitoba that there is a medical reason why they can't receive the vaccine.

When asked which documents of proof would exclude a person from the vaccine requirement, a spokesperson for the provincial government said the province's medical advisory committee had not identified "any health conditions that would be a permanent contraindication to the vaccine."

The requirement to wear masks in indoor public spaces also came back into effect on Saturday.