Church gathering size restrictions loosening to 25% max capacity

Manitoba's Chief Public Health Officer is explaining what the next steps for worship space reopenings are.

On Friday, places of worship will be able to reopen for regular services at 25 per cent capacity, matching the capacity limit percentage for most other places across the province. Places of worship will be limited to 100 people in the facility at one time.

This will be in effect for three weeks, until March 25.

"We will just have to see how well the fundamentals are followed, what the transmission is like," Dr. Brent Roussin says. "Time will tell us when we will get back to those type of things."

Manitoba's Chief Public Health Officer says it will take time for places of worship to return to its usual activities. (Screenshot: Government of Manitoba/YouTube)

Similar to the loosening of restrictions three weeks ago, those attending will need to sit with their household group and practice distancing. Attendees are expected to follow all of the facility's COVID-19 protocols.

Other in-person programming, such as youth groups and Bible classes, remain paused at this time. Singing at services continues to be discouraged due to the virus travelling in droplets.

"It is going to depend on a lot of things," Roussin says about allowing activities to resume. "It is going to depend on our vaccine uptake."

He says if high volumes of people take the vaccine, the province will be able to announce more reopenings.

"We will be able to get back to a lot of the things we want to do."

When vaccines become more widely available, something Canada is struggling with, Roussin says places of worship will be able to make the return to usual activities.