A state of emergency for the Winnipeg Police Service has been issued by the police chief as COVID-19 hits the service hard.

Winnipeg Police Service Chief Danny Smyth is issuing a state of emergency as they have 90 active COVID-19 cases. He says 170 personnel are on COVID-19-related leave

“We have some real challenges ahead. The current COVID-19 situation has significantly impacted our staffing resources," Smyth says in a statement.

The Winnipeg Police Service would not say how many of these cases and people isolated are officers. The service has 1,917 people in its workforce.

"It has become necessary to execute parts of our Business Continuity Plan to ensure essential services – particularly in General Patrol."

He is moving 80 officers to General Patrol, and then backfilling from other units. This will begin on Sunday.

"The changes are designed to ensure that General Patrol units remain available to be dispatched to help the citizens of Winnipeg when they call for help," The service's statement says.

They say more redeployments and restructuring may occur in the future if staffing pressures get worse.

Manitoba's Deputy Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Jazz Atwal, does not have more information on these cases, saying he only has the number of cases. He could not say if they would be considered in an outbreak.