Manitoba moves to 5-day isolation requirement for fully vaccinated people with COVID-19
CBC
Fully-vaccinated people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are not showing symptoms of the disease will only have to self-isolate for five days, down from 10, Manitoba's health minister announced Friday.
Audrey Gordon announced the changes in a late-afternoon press release. They come as the province is seeing a major surge in cases as a result of the Omicron variant along with a demand for PCR testing at provincial COVID-19 testing sites.
The self-isolation public health order changes, which take effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, include:
Gordon said the changes are being made on the advice of public health officials and as a result of the prevalence of rapid antigen tests.
"These changes will help ensure everyone who should self-isolate does, regardless of how they tested and will reduce the strain on the health-system workforce … as more workers report they have contracted COVID-19," Gordon said.
Public health officials stressed anyone leaving isolation must avoid — for an additional five days — non-essential visits to high-risk settings (such as personal care homes) or non-essential contact with people who are at high risk for severe outcomes.
"We have looked at data from Manitoba and other jurisdictions, and feel these changes will balance reducing the spread of COVID-19 while ensuring critical services can continue to operate," said Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer.
The changes to Manitoba's orders follows announcements by the provinces of Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, each of which made similar alterations to their self-isolation requirements.
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