Manitoba moves to 5-day isolation requirement for fully vaccinated people with COVID-19

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 news 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:

• Requiring all people who have tested positive for COVID-19 to isolate, including those who completed a rapid antigen test;

• Changing isolation requirements to five days from 10 days since the date symptoms started appearing or the date of the test, whichever is later, for fully-vaccinated people as long as their symptoms are improving and they do not have a fever;

• Requiring individuals who have only isolated for five days due to the changes above to wear medical-grade mask while in a public setting for the five days immediately following their self-isolation; and

• Requiring isolation for people who have tested positive who are not fully vaccinated for 10 days after the date of their test as long as their symptoms are improving and they do not have a fever.

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 whichmade similar alterationsto their self-isolation requirements.