WINNIPEG – Amid Manitoba’s critical COVID-19 spread and heightened restrictions, Ontario health officials are now advising residents in their Northwestern health region to stay out of our province. Noting Manitoba’s daily increase in case counts and our rate of community transmission, Ontario’s Northwestern Health Unit says their residents shouldn’t enter Manitoba unless traveling here is essential. Officials at the Dryden Regional Health Centre say the recent explosion of positive COVID-19 cases in Winnipeg and surrounding Manitoba communities, along with a rising death toll, is causing a lot of concern for medical professionals in Northwestern Ontario.

The NWHU points to the increase in pandemic response levels in both Manitoba and the Winnipeg health region and additional public health orders, and says residents of northern Ontario residents who must travel to Manitoba will be required to self-isolate for 14 days.

NWHU chief medical officer Dr. Kit Young Hoon says not visiting anyone for 14 days after returning from Manitoba is especially important for anyone who has, or might have contact with someone who has, a high risk of complications or death from the virus due to age or underlying health conditions.