Province implementing stricter self-isolation rules in Southern Health region

WINNIPEG -

New stricter self-isolation rules for households in the Southern Health Region are coming to Manitoba, as the region sees increased community transmission and rising case numbers.

On Tuesday, the province said in Southern Health, household members of close contacts or of symptomatic people who have not had any known COVID-19 exposures must self-isolate.

Dr. Jazz Atwal, the deputy chief provincial public health officer, said this change means if someone living in Southern Health-Santé Sud needs to self-isolate and get tested, then the rest of the household has to self-isolate unless otherwise exempt.

He said, as an example, if a student in the region is symptomatic or identified as a close contact, their entire household now must self-isolate until the test results are known.

"This includes not attending school," Atwal said. "Not self-isolating can lead to spreading the virus to those around you, and to your community members."

People who are fully vaccinated or were infected with COVID-19 within six months will be exempt, as well as asymptomatic designated workers who are not fully vaccinated but do regular rapid testing. The province said if a worker or close contact in a household has symptoms, then they are still required to self-isolate.

The province said the online screening tool and public health officials doing contact tracing will help people know how long they must self-isolate for.

Atwal said these new rules take effect immediately, and will be in place until community transmission in the region decreases or the strain on the health care system capacity is reduced. 

This is a developing story. More to come.