No curfew coming for Winnipeg area, premier says

The Manitoba government won't be implementinga proposed curfew in the Winnipeg area to curb the rise in COVID-19 at this time, Premier Brian Pallister announced Thursday.

Pallister saidhealth officials feel the measure would be premature right now, given that Winnipeg and the surrounding area are only a few days into the latest heightened public health restrictions, andthe province wants to allowmore time for the restrictions to work.

Instead, the province plans to beef up its enforcement, the premier said at a Thursday afternoon news conference.

"There will be consequences for people when they put others in danger, when they put themselves in danger," Pallister said.

Manitobans responded in great numbers to the province'sonline surveyon the proposed curfew, he said, with many saying that they would support it if necessary, but would prefer the province focused on catching people breaking the rules.

The Manitoba government will spend about $2.5 million on enforcement efforts of COVID-19 restrictions, which also include improving its tip line for reporting COVID-19 rule breakers, Pallister said.

Manitoba health officials reported four more deaths related to COVID-19 and 427 new cases on Thursday the province's second-highest increase in a single day.

The number of patients in hospital with the illness also jumped Thursday to 153 the highest number to datewith 16 peoplein intensive care.

A new Probe Researchpoll suggeststhere is strong support among Manitobans for the code red restrictionsin the Winnipeg-area, with more than one half of those surveyed saying they don't think the restrictions go far enough.

About eight in 10Manitobans said they would be willing to endure even stricter restrictions for a few weeks, with a slightly higher proportion agreeing their fellow citizens are not doing the things they should be doing to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Probe report said.

When asked about the poll, Pallister said the majority of Manitobans are doing their part to curb COVID-19 in the province, and the government wants to target its efforts on changingthe behavioursof the Manitobans who aren't rather than clamp down on everyone.

Ad campaigntargets youth

In addition, the province is launching a new digital ad campaign about how COVID-19 spreads, which appears to be targeted at young people.

One of the ads,played during Thursday's news conference, featuresa young man talking about how he caught COVID-19 and then spread it to someone wholater died.

The ad shows the young man having a drink and socializing with numerous friends.

"I wanted to feel like things were normal again," the man says.

It then shows him going about his day, and how many people he comes into contact with.He goes on to say that while he might be fine after catching COVID, others were not so lucky.

The ad closes on a grim picture: the man standing over a coffin.

Watch the ad below:

The ads will be published on various digital and social media channels including Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and TikTok.

The ads were the result offocus groupswith high school students andManitobans between the ages of 18 to 24 conducted by Prairie Research Associates.The province hired the research agencyto better understand young Manitobans' attitudes, behaviours and experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic,a background documentfrom the province said.

During the focus groups, the research agency found thatparticipants cited feeling "burned out"by the amount of information available about COVID-19, and have significantly reduced actively looking for information about itif they're looking for it at all.

Participants said theyget information passively through social media, shared by friends or local businesses/media,but also through work or word of mouth.

Increased enforcement

The province also announced Thursday itsenforcement will includegranting a range ofpersonnel across various agencies the power to hand out tickets to people breaking COVID-19 regulations, and plans to reimburse municipalities for any tickets written by their staff.

Additional enforcement powers will be granted to provincial staff including motor carrier enforcement officers (who enforce the Highway Traffic Act, and work atweigh stations and operate patrol vehicles across Manitoba), fire safety inspectors and water resources officers, the province said in a news release.

The province will also reimburse municipalities for the equivalent value of any tickets written by municipal bylaw enforcement officers.

Earlier this week, Pallister said the government was "seriously considering" instituting a curfew to curb group gatherings in an effort to stamp out the current surge in cases.

He blamed the recent spike in COVID-19 cases on "late-night situations in Winnipeg," and also vowed to ramp up enforcement measures.

On Tuesday, the province launched an online survey for the public to give feedback on the idea.

Winnipeg police have also pledged to ramp up their enforcement of public health orders, saying they'll focus on breaking up house parties and other big gatherings.

Fines for violating COVID-19 health orders in Manitoba are now set at $1,296 for individuals and $5,000 for businesses.