The state of emergency in Manitoba will end this afternoon at four o'clock.

First declared on March 20th, 2020, just as our province was starting to feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Premier Kelvin Goertzen and Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler say the state of emergency is no longer required to help the province protect Manitobans from the impacts of the virus.

"As we continue to move toward a post-pandemic Manitoba, we want to remind everyone, although the state of emergency is expiring, COVID-19 is still here," says Goertzen. "With vaccination rates among the highest in the country with over 82 per cent of eligible Manitobans fully vaccinated, we can help control COVID, but it's important that all Manitobans continue to follow the fundamentals that help us limit our risks."

It is important to note that the expiration of the state of emergency does not mean public health orders have been lifted or that restrictions have been eased. The province says public health orders can continue to be issued through the Public Health Act, and the province can declare a new state of emergency if required in the future.

An example of when the state of emergency was used, was when government restricted staff movement between personal care homes. This order is no longer required as amendments were made to the Public Health Act that enabled the issue to be addressed under that act.

In addition, the province made a variety of temporary suspension orders around corporate meeting provisions to allow for virtual meetings, in-person commissioning and witnessing to be done remotely, and providing relief related to youth exiting care under the Child and Family Services Act. The temporary suspensions were made to assist Manitobans in responding to difficulties created by the pandemic and are no longer required.

Lastly, orders were made regarding varying reporting deadlines for government and government agencies. This power was used to make orders to allow for extended provincial government reporting deadlines in 2020-21 as organizational resources were redeployed to address the impacts of the pandemic.

“Our government will continue to remain cautious and vigilant in efforts to stop the spread of the virus,” said Schuler. “Manitoba’s Emergency Measures Organization provincial response team will continue to work with industry partners and experts in supporting programs and services to assist in Manitoba’s COVID-19 response strategy.”

Public health orders are still in effect, and Manitobans are encouraged to continue to follow public health guidelines around the use of masks and vaccinations to lessen the impact of a fourth wave.

For the full list of orders under the emergency act, visit:

https://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/statutes/index_orders.php?o=title&x=1.

To view the state of emergency and public health orders, visit: https://manitoba.ca/covid19/restartmb/prs/orders/index.html.