WINNIPEG -- Manitoba health officials are making changes to the current public health orders.
Starting on April 9 at 12:01 a.m., the province will be allowing liquor cart sales on golf courses and the maximum number of people allowed to attend self-help meetings will increase to 25.
Those are the only changes being made to the health orders, otherwise, the rules that are in place will stay that way until April 30.
Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief provincial public health officer, said there wasn't much else officials could do.
"We really weren't in a position to offer a broader reopening at this point because of our slowly increasing rates as well as the risks posed by the variants of concern," said Roussin.
He said when the last orders were made in March, the province wasn't expecting golf courses to open as early as they did.
"There wasn't a provision that said they really couldn't; it was just the way we framed the orders at that point, (and) it just didn't fit for golf courses. There really isn't a public health risk to have that go on."
Roussin calls the moves "minor tweaks" and said the changes are just to clarify some of the rules.
On Thursday, health officials announced 40 new COVID-19 variant cases; 37 are the B.1.1.7 variant, while three have not been categorized.
Manitoba has had 339 variant cases.
