City of Winnipeg plans to reopen indoor pools by end of March

The City of Winnipeg plans to reopen its indoor pools at limited capacity, now that it's allowed under public health orders.

The city aims to have its pools open at 25 per cent capacity by March 29, Jay Shaw, the city's assistant chief of emergency management, said at a news conference Thursday.

The pools will open for aquatic sports groups, lane swimming, aquatic fitness classesand limited public swimming within capacity limits, he said.

The only pools that won't open aretheSt.James Civic Pool and Margaret Grant Pool, which are closed for renovations.

The city will also recall340 community services staff who were temporarily laid off, Shaw said.

Winnipeg's city-owned pools have been closedsince the end of October 2020, when the province announcedthe city and surrounding areas were going into the critical, or red, level on the pandemic response system.

Shaw said the city wants to take a slow and steady approach to reopening its facilities.

"The public health orders have just changed to allow limited change room capacity, and now is the time to move this forward," he said.

Patio program back

In addition, the city is going to renew itstemporary patio registration program for the upcoming summer season.

The program will allow eligible restaurants, lounges and other business to operate a patio under a temporary permit from April 1 toOct. 31.

Businesses that took part in the program last year will have to renew their registration, Shaw said.

About 60 businesses took part in the program last year, the city said in a news release.

Mayor Brian Bowman saidrestaurant owners have told the city they need as much flexibility as possible, so the program offers aprocess to get a patio up and running that is simpler thanit traditionally has been.

He said he expectspatio season will be particularly busy this yearafter months of strict COVID-19 restrictions, and encouraged Winnipeggers to get out and support local businesses.

"Many of the restaurants that we know are going to be applying for these patios ...hopefully Winnipeggerswill support. They need the support right now," he said.