No workarounds for restrictions on indoor dining, public health official warns

Manitobans expecting out-of-province visitors or planning to watch a game with friends at a bar should know there are strict rules in place to curb the spread of COVID-19 and coronavirus variants, a Manitoba public health official warns.

Dr. Jazz Atwal, the province's acting deputy chief public health officer, aimed to dispel some confusion around health orders intended to prevent non-essential travel and creating too many close contacts while dining in restaurants or bars.

"Just because you're able to do something, we need to think about 'should we do it?' Because every single thing that we do generates some risk," he said at a news conference Friday.

Under Manitoba's current public health orders, which are set to expire on March 26, people are only allowed to dine indoors at a restaurant or bar with members of their own household. 

On outdoor patios, up to six people are allowed to gather, and they don't have to be from the same household.

But Atwal warned that groups from different homes that gather indoors — even if households are technically separated, by sitting at separate but nearby tables, for example — could be breaking public health orders.

"[That] constitutes a gathering if the attendees have purposefully attended for a common purpose, such as socializing or watching the game," he said.

And that could mean hefty fines for the restaurant.

"If an operator intentionally books a room or area in a restaurant for groups from different households greater than six persons, they could be in violation," Atwal said.

Rules for visitors

Atwal also aimed to clear up rules around hosting visitors from outside Manitoba.

Under the current health orders, anyone entering the province must self-isolate for 14 days, with a few exceptions. That includes returning Manitobans who have left the province for a non-essential reason.

Atwal clarified that visitors to the province should self-isolate immediately after they arrive, and before going to see friends or family here.

If they don't, the entire household must self-isolate for 14 days, and then again for 14 days after the visitors leave.

"Self-isolating means not interacting with anyone for any reason," Atwal said.

"This means staying home and not going out for anything like work, school or going to public places. You need to have food and other supplies delivered to your place of isolation as well."

In addition, any out-of-province visitors would "then become your two designated visitors, or your one household visitor" allowed under the current rules.

Hosting anyone else after your out-of-province visitors could mean you're violating the health orders, Atwal warned.

On Thursday, the province announced it's mulling shifting to orange, or restricted, level of Manitoba's pandemic response system. The province has been at the red, or critical, level since November.

Restaurants could potentially be allowed to seat people from the same household with their designated visitors — either two individuals or one other household, per the public health order.

The government is also considering lifting the mandatory 14-day self-isolation period for interprovincial travellers who are travelling for business and do not have COVID-19 symptoms.

Even so, Manitobans need to be careful in light of growing numbers of more contagious coronavirus variants, and clusters forming throughout the province, Atwal says.

"We want to continue to be able to open up, to maintain this opening as well, and we can continue to do that, if all Manitobans continue to follow public health orders and messaging," he said.

"This is not forever, but it is what we need to do right now."