Manitoba is following the lead of other jurisdictions that are cutting isolation requirements in half for some positive cases, including if they are still symptomatic.

In a late-afternoon press release, the Province of Manitoba is announcing changes to self-isolation requirements.

“We have looked at data from Manitoba and other jurisdictions, and feel these changes will balance reducing the spread of COVID-19 while ensuring critical services can continue to operate," Manitoba's Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Brent Roussin says in the statement.

The new orders come into effect at midnight on Saturday. 

"These changes will help ensure everyone who should self-isolate does, regardless of how they tested, and will reduce the strain on the health-system workforce as well as other key sectors as more workers report they have contracted COVID-19," Health and Seniors Care Minister Audrey Gordon says in the statement.

 

New requirements

Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 must isolate, including those who completed a rapid antigen test. How long depends on if a person is fully vaccinated or not.

New isolation requirements for fully-vaccinated people will bump isolation periods from 10 days to five days. This includes either it being five days since the date of a test or people without symptoms and people whose symptoms, excluding a fever, are improving. 

The five days after requiring people to wear a medical-grade mask when in public.

People who are not fully vaccinated and test positive must isolate for 10 days after the positive test result if their symptoms improve and they do not have a fever.

 

The province is asking people not to go to high-risk settings or have non-essential contact with people who have a high risk after isolation for the five days following their isolation period ending.

“I ask all Manitobans to get immunized as soon as possible, including a third dose when eligible to reduce the number of close contacts they have, and to stay home as much as possible to reduce the risk of severe illness and reduce the spread of COVID-19," Roussin says.