WINNIPEG -- As part of Manitoba’s second phase of reopening, sports and recreational activities have been permitted to resume in the province as of June 1.
This means Manitobans will be able to take part in activities that involve a lot of close contact, such as martial arts, boxing and football, though they still must follow strict guidelines mandated by the province.
According to Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, minimizing the risk during high-contact sports is about finding a balance.
“We want to get people out, back, active, and benefitting from all of these activities,” he said.
“And certainly no one at Public Health is going to be in a position to be able to know the intricacies of every sport, so what we do is there’s guidelines that we forwarded them from Public Health Agency of Canada.”
Roussin said those who are participating in these sports will need to look at the guidelines and see how they can make modifications in order to keep people safe.
Some of the rules include: creating a plan to minimize physical contact, considering how to adapt activities to take place outside, and screening staff and participants for any symptoms.
“No one wants to put people they’re training or training with at risk,” Roussin said.
“So it’s going to be up to those sports to read the guidelines, to find ways to minimize the risk and certainly nothing that we do, do we deal with zero risk. So it’s going to be that balance.”
In the government’s Phase Two reopening plan, it notes activities, such as boxing and football, involving prolonged face-to-face contact are higher-risk, and will need some adjustments to minimize contact.
