City of Winnipeg hammers home physical distancing message, but stops short of enforcing public health orders

City of Winnipeg officials continueto stress the importance of respecting provincial public health orders around gatherings and physical distancingbut say the citywill not crack down on thosemeasures for now.

Mayor Brian Bowmanand Jay Shaw, thecity's manager of emergency operations, gave an update on the city's response to the COVID-19 pandemic Wednesday afternoon at city hall, shortly after Manitoba public health officials confirmed 24 new cases and said there is now evidence of community transmission of the virus in the province.

Bowman said he is not currently ramping up municipal enforcement of provincial public health orders to close non-critical businesses and limit gatherings to no more than 10 people.

"If there's stronger enforcement by the province, I'll certainly do what I can to support those efforts," he said.

City council will be holding a special meeting on Friday to consider a public service report onproperty and business tax relief measures,and a motion to declare a local state of emergency.

Bowman said the city already has enough authority without the extratools that come with entering a state of emergency, and "there would be no immediate plans to leverage or to utilize them" if a declaration is made at the end of the week.

The mayor did quickly declare a state of emergency following the snowstorm that slammed the city last October, but said Wednesday that was necessary becausereconvening council quickly to make decisions to react to that storm was not practical.

Shaw said there are emergency shelter plans in the works, if required, to protect the vulnerable homeless community.

Wheels turning

City employees, including firefighters, paramedics, police, transit operators, waste and recyclingcollectors, water and waste technicians, and others are still on the job, and will have the equipment they need to keep working.

"If we need to provide people with [personal protective equipment] for a job, and there has been a risk assessment provided that it's needed, we'll do it, if it's deemed warranted," Shaw said.

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He said the city has already closed down its play structuresand is holding off on opening athletic fields or skate parks this spring.

The city isn't yet installing gates or fencing off all closed places, but signs are being put up to let people know the outdoor facilities aren't open. Shaw said he hopes Winnipeggers will get the message.

"This is not the time to get together with your friends. This is not the time to meet up at parks. And this is not the time for a pickup game of street hockey," he said.

"This is a time to practise social distancing, to stay home and to prevent further community transmission."

While city parks remain open, the city is trying to find the right balance between physical distancing and providing opportunities for activity.

"Closing parks is not off the table," he said.

The city earlier determined there was a lack of "medical and scientific evidence"to close them down, Shaw said, but within 48 hours had information that advised officials to "maybe start looking at that."

With few recreational options left available, some park pathsand roads have turned into obstacle courses for those trying to maintain therecommended two-metre distance from others.

"I would just urge everybody take the warnings, take the recommendations [and]the orders from the province very seriously not just for your own health, but for the health of our community," Bowman said.

Urgent relief needed

Bowman said the city's COVID-19 business task force, launched last Tuesday, has met twice. Bowman said he has heard about an urgent need for relief, and for waysto connect businesses with the information they need.

He did not elaborate on the property and business tax relief measures council will consider later this week, or how those measures might help local businesses bounce back after the pandemic.

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"It's also important to keep in mind that the municipal government is one level of government with the shallowest pockets to provide relief," Bowman said.

"Municipal government doesn't have direct skin in the game in terms of economic growth, and we therefore look to other levels of government who do to be there to support businesses and Canadians."

Stopping spread of infection and river waters

Meanwhile, in light of the latest flood forecast, the city is considering how people might contribute to flood prevention efforts such as sandbagging, while practising safe physical distancing.

Shaw said staff have plans in place for the 57 properties in the cityon flood notice so far, and they may start delivering sandbags as soon as the weather permits.

There are ways to avoid close contact when it comes to loading and unloading sandbags and building dikes, Shaw said, including proper hand hygiene.

"There should be exceptions allowed for sandbagging, and we're working with the province to make sure we can work on that," he said.

"It could be tricky ... the two sort of hazards coming together at once, but we saw it coming six weeks ago."

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