City to close arenas, pools, gyms and libraries

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This article was published 30/10/2020 (2171 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeggers will endure a second pandemic shutdown of recreation facilities, just as it did during the spring lockdown.

The City of Winnipeg will shut down its gyms, pools, arenas and libraries on Saturday, just before a sharp surge in COVID-19 cases triggers new provincial restrictions set to take effect Monday.

The city says all of its recreation and leisure programs will be suspended Oct. 31, two days before the province moves Winnipeg to its “red” or critical pandemic response category and suspends all sports and recreation programs.

Mayor Brian Bowman said the city is acting quickly to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

“Today’s alarming rise in cases is a stark reminder of the role we all have to play in limiting the spread of COVID-19 in our community,” Bowman said on Friday.

The province announced 480 additional cases of the virus, including 309 in Winnipeg. The senior government noted some cases reflect a backlog in reporting.

While the 311 service counter in the administration building at city hall will remain open, the council building will close to the public. Weddings will be suspended.

The city says community centres are owned by the city but are operated by volunteer boards, which would decide their own closures.

The province will allow fitness centres and gyms to operate at 25 per cent capacity, as of Monday.

Jason Shaw, Winnipeg’s assistant chief of emergency management, said the city chose to close gyms instead because municipal ones tend to operate in the same facilities as other types of recreation.

“To (ensure) public safety and the protection of our employees and our residents, a decision was made to loop all of these closures in together,” he said.

Shaw said the closures are not expected to trigger layoffs.

He urged Winnipeggers to strictly follow public health orders now to avoid future disruptions.

“Let’s work towards making sure we can get together in December, for all those holidays that are coming up. Let’s make sure we take care of each other because right now, it’s pretty serious,” said Shaw.

The city closures are expected to last at least two weeks, and be reassessed at that point.

Meanwhile, a union says three Winnipeg Transit drivers have tested positive for COVID-19 this month. The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505 said it questions why the city didn’t publicly report the cases.

“There’s not transparency as far as I’m concerned,” said president Romeo Ignacio.

The ATU urged the city to take extra precautions to reduce the pandemic risk on buses, including extending driver safety shields and supplying free masks on buses.

In an email, Winnipeg Transit did not comment on specific COVID-19 cases but noted its release of public information is guided by both public health rules and privacy legislation.

Shaw said Transit has had a 97 per cent compliance rate for mask use among bus riders but will assess whether additional safety steps are needed.

Joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga