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Manitoba's state of emergency to end on Thursday

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WINNIPEG -

Manitoba’s state of emergency will expire on Thursday, Oct. 21 at 4 p.m.

Premier Kelvin Goertzen and Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler made the announcement in a news release, saying the order is no longer necessary to help protect Manitobans against COVID-19.

The province first declared a state of emergency on March 20, 2020.

The province said it could continue to implement public health orders without a state of emergency, adding that it will declare a new state of emergency if one is needed.

Manitoba’s public health orders remain in effect.

“As we continue to move toward a post-pandemic Manitoba, we want to remind everyone, although the state of emergency is expiring, COVID-19 is still here,” Goertzen said in the news release.

“With vaccination rates among the highest in the country with over 82 per cent of eligible Manitobans fully vaccinated, we can help control COVID, but it’s important that all Manitobans continue to follow the fundamentals that help us limit our risks.”

The province notes that the state of emergency allowed it to introduce several emergency orders that were beyond the scope of the Public Health Act.

This includes using powers in section 12.3 to restrict the movement of staff between personal care homes. This is no longer required as changes were made to the Public Health Act to enable the issue to be addressed under the act.

Manitoba also used powers in section 12.6 to create several temporary suspension orders around corporate meeting provisions to allow for virtual meetings, in-person witnessing, and commissioning to be done remotely, and to provide relief related to youth leaving care under the Child and Family Services Act. The province said these temporary suspensions are no longer required.

The provincial government also created orders under section 12.13 relating to reporting deadlines for government and government agencies. This was done to allow for extended reporting deadlines for the province for 2020-21 because organizational resources were redeployed due to the pandemic.

“Our government will continue to remain cautious and vigilant in efforts to stop the spread of the virus,” Schuler said.

“Manitoba’s Emergency Measures Organization provincial response team will continue to work with industry partners and experts in supporting programs and services to assist in Manitoba’s COVID-19 response strategy.”

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