WINNIPEG -- The Province of Manitoba is looking at different ways to house people who need to self-isolate away from their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, and are asking for places like hotels to step up.
The province issued a request for supply agreement on Tuesday for places including hotels, inns, beds and breakfasts, modular housing and motels across Manitoba.
The province said these places would be used to house people who require isolation due to COVID-19, people who need accommodations while awaiting test results, people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 but need accommodations due to a shortage of space in hospitals, or health care workers who are affected by COVID-19 or require accommodations away from their families to reduce risk.
"We have been preparing for a time where we need to support people and help provide spaces for people who can't properly self-isolate at home," said Shared Health's Lanette Siragusa, provincial lead of health system integration.
"There are people who don't have a home or whose homes they cohabitate with people who have chronic diseases. So it may be just very difficult to self-isolate and minimize the risk to loved ones."
Siragusa said the request for proposals closes Thursday afternoon. The request for supply agreement said the arrangement will be active up to Sept. 30, 2020.
It added the province can expand or reduce the timeline as needed.
"We anticipate that hotels and motels will step up and offer their services, but we are open to all possibilities," she said. "For now, only urgent situations for COVID-positive patients or healthcare providers will be considered for staying at these locations."
Siragusa said these criteria may expand as the pandemic continues to grow.
