on march 18, the province issued a survey asking for feedback on a future downgrade to the "restricted" (orange) tier. on april 19, new restrictions were announced due to a third wave and increasing cases of variants of sars-cov-2; beginning april 20, gatherings were limited to 10 people, households may only have two designated visitors, places of worship are limited to 25% capacity or 50 people (whichever is lower), and weddings and funerals are limited to 10 people. beginning april 21, all retail outlets must operate at a maximum of 1⁄3 capacity or 333 people (whichever is lower). april–may 2021 on april 26, pallister announced further restrictions to lasting for at least four weeks, including prohibiting indoor gatherings and household visitors, restricting gyms, faith-based gatherings, and retail to 25% capacity, and personal services to 50% by-appointment only. roussin stated that "we need manitobans to understand how critical we are right now in a race between vaccinations and the variants of concern." on may 7, pallister announced that it would impose further and "significant" restrictions effective may 9–30. they restrict retail stores to 10% capacity or 100 people (whichever is fewer), and order the closure of all dine-in restaurants (even outdoors), dance, music, and performing arts schools, galleries, gyms and fitness centres, libraries, museums, and personal care services. indoor community, cultural, and religious gatherings, indoor sports and recreation, and outdoor sports and recreation with more than five people are prohibited. outdoor gatherings are limited to five people, on may 20, ahead of the victoria day long weekend and after recording a record 603 new cases (with 409 being in winnipeg alone), pallister announced new restrictions that were to be in effect from may 22 through may 26. they prohibit all outdoor gatherings (including outdoor recreation) with people from outside of the immediate household, and restrict entry into retail stores to one person per-household (with an exception for a caregiver and their patient), in addition to all other public health orders. these health orders were extended through june 12. manitoba sought aid from the federal government due to the current surge. as of may 25, 79 covid-19 patients in manitoba were in intensive care. in order to preserve critical care capacity, the province has had to send icu patients to hospitals in the neighbouring provinces of ontario and saskatchewan. june 2021 on june 8, pallister announced that the province would offer cards to verify those who have been fully vaccinated. they will initially allow for exceptions from restrictions on health care visitation. on june 9, roussin announced that outdoor gatherings of up to five people from up to two households would be allowed beginning june 12. all other public health orders remain in force through at least june 26. on june 10, pallister announced plans to ease the current public health orders if certain targets for vaccination (both first and second doses) are met, with the first phase expected to begin by july 1. roussin emphasized that "the goal is to get to a post-pandemic manitoba where we have public health recommendations and not restrictions". on june 26, manitoba entered milestone 1 of the new framework, allowing some restrictions on gatherings and businesses to be eased to 25% capacity. july 2021 on july 3, the province reported its lowest single-day increase in cases since march, with only 48 new cases. on july 7, ahead of schedule, the province announced that it had reached the vaccination thresholds required for the second milestone, and that details for the next phase could be revealed as soon as the following week. the province also announced plans for a one-day "vax-a-thon" with a "festive" atmosphere on july 14, during which all of manitoba's "supersite" vaccine clinics would have an expanded capacity for walk-in appointments. details were announced for milestone 2 on july 14, taking effect on july 17. august 2021 details were announced for milestone 3 on august 3, taking effect on august 7; this phase lifted the indoor mask mandate and further eased some restrictions on gatherings and retail. on august 11, the province announced that its "supersite" vaccine clinics would also begin to offer youth "catch-up" appointments for other immunizations such as hepatitis b and hpv, as school-based immunization programs had been suspended due to the pandemic. on august 24, pallister announced that new pre-emptive public health orders would be implemented in order to reduce spread of delta variant and prevent a fourth wave, including the reinstatement of mask mandates province-wide, new vaccination requirements for various provincial employees who do not agree to regular covid-19 testing, and plans to restrict further activities to the fully-vaccinated only. september 2021 effective september 3, proof of vaccination is required for entry to any dining area and all licensed premises (also including food courts effective september 7), casinos and vlt lounges, gyms, cinemas, indoor recreational businesses and activities, and any ticketed concert or sporting event. furthermore, outdoor gatherings will be capped at 500 unless otherwise exempted by public health. by late-september, a fourth wave had begun to develop; the southern health region, which has had some of the lowest vaccination rates province-wide, was noted as having the larger proportion of new cases in the province. october 2021 on october 1, all of manitoba was moved back to orange on the pandemic response system, and new public health orders were announced effective october 5 to further restrict gatherings involving unvaccinated residents. the province also announced capacity restrictions for retail in the southern health region. on october 25, all existing public health orders were renewed for an additional three weeks beginning november 2. in addition, it was stated that due to vaccination rates, as well as their proximity to winnipeg, the rural municipalities of cartier, headingley, macdonald, niverville-ritchot, st. francois xavier, and tache would be excluded from the existing health orders in affect for the southern health region, and would follow the regulations in effect for the rest of the province (and in particular winnipeg). provincial government response first wave on march 20, a provincial state of emergency was declared under the emergency measures act by premier brian pallister, effective for 30 days. the order restricted public gatherings to no more than 50 people, required retail stores and public transit to enforce social distancing, limited hospitality businesses and theatres to 50% capacity or 50 people (whichever is fewer), and shut down all fitness facilities. breaches of the order could trigger fines of up to $50,000 or six months imprisonment. on march 30, further directives under the public health act came into effect, which reduced the maximum size of public gatherings to 10 people, and required retail businesses to ensure one to two metres of social distancing between customers. on april 1, the province ordered the closure of all non-critical businesses to the public, including bars, hair salons, massage clinics, and dine-in restaurants (delivery and take-out would still be allowed, with some restaurants having already done so voluntarily). the order would last for at least 14 days, but could be extended. on april 3, pallister appealed to people refusing to comply with social distancing recommendations, calling them "thoughtless and stupid" during a press conference. as of april 9, health orders issued pursuant to the state of emergency became enforceable under provincial law, starting at $486 for individuals and $2,542 for businesses. in winnipeg, by-law officers were authorized to issue fines of up to $1,000 to those violating the orders in municipal parks, and winnipeg mayor brian bowman warned that a penalty of up to six months in jail would be possible in extreme circumstances. on april 13, the province extended the closure on non-essential businesses by an additional two weeks, and stated that distancing measures would likely continue into the summer. on april 15, an emergency sitting of the legislative assembly of manitoba was held, in which legislation was passed that granted province's chief public health officer the power to restrict travel within manitoba and to order individuals to take precautionary measures, such as self-isolation. it also gave the cabinet the authority to fix prices for essential goods, and to establish penalties for price gouging. on april 20, pallister announced a 30-day extension of the province's state of emergency, while also setting a goal for manitoba to be the first canadian province to reopen its economy. lifting of first wave health orders on may 4, manitoba began the first phase of lifting its public health orders. phase effective date restrictions eased 1 may 4, 2020 non-essential medical services, outdoor recreation facilities, barber shops and hair salons, museums, art galleries, libraries, retail businesses (including shopping malls), and campgrounds were allowed to re-open, subject to social distancing and other guidelines issued by the province. restaurants allowed to offer outdoor dine-in on patios. on may 22, the group size restrictions were loosened to allow 25 people at indoor locations and 50 people at outdoor gatherings. practices in professional sports could also resume. 2 june 1, 2020 restaurants and bars allowed to offer indoor dine-in service at 50% capacity. pools and fitness facilities allowed to reopen. direct travel allowed to parks, campgrounds, lodges, etc. in northern manitoba. daycare capacity expanded to 24 children. one-on-one tutoring and small group assessments in elementary and secondary schools became allowed (but still remaining closed for regular in-class instruction for the rest of the school year). post-secondary art studios and labs allowed to operate with a maximum capacity of 25. spas, manicurists and estheticians allowed to resume service. outdoor "drive-in" religious services allowed. outdoor recreation facilities allowed to expand to full capacity with social distancing. 3 june 21, 2020 group size limits increased to 50 indoors and 100 outdoors (though larger gatherings are allowable if participants are cohorted into groups, with a maximum indoor capacity of 30% of licensed capacity). hard capacity limits lifted for retail establishments, restaurants, bars, and health care/therapy businesses; may admit as many customers as they can while maintaining appropriate physical distancing. bars may not offer standing service or dance floors. daycares allowed to expand to full capacity. indoor recreation facilities (including bingo halls and vlt lounges, but excluding cinemas and casinos) and permanent outdoor amusement parks were allowed to open at half capacity. some interprovincial travel restrictions lifted for those travelling from western canada or northwest ontario. 4 july 25, 2020 casinos, cinemas, and theatres allowed to reopen at 30% capacity. religious and spiritual services increased to a maximum capacity of 30%, with the requirement for cohorting removed. based on feedback from a survey conducted by provincial officials, several planned changes were adjusted and deferred, including casinos and cinemas opening at 50% capacity (rather than 30%), lifting of self-isolation requirements for travel east of terrace bay, ontario, and allowing standing service at bars. health care and testing by march 14, the province was testing 500 patients per-day. all patients in manitoba's intensive care units, as well as those admitted to a hospital for respiratory illnesses, have also been tested. on march 21, a drive-through testing centre opened in winnipeg, at a site close to the victoria general hospital. as with walk-in testing centres, a referral is necessary to use the drive-through testing centre. as of march 21, 2020, there were four other walk-in test centres in winnipeg, as well as test centres in brandon, thompson, selkirk, flin flon, steinbach and the pas. on april 16, testing became available by-request for essential workers. the province also established an online cognitive behavioural therapy program for those with anxiety as a result of the pandemic. on april 28, testing became available to any resident showing symptoms. on may 4, the province began to increase its testing of asymptomatic patients. by august, the province expected a testing capacity of 2500 per day. travel advisories and restrictions on march 15, roussin issued an advisory against international travel, and recommended 14 days of self-isolation on return. on march 27, informational checkpoints were established at the ontario and saskatchewan borders on the trans-canada highway, and on the saskatchewan border on highways 16, 5, and 2. vehicles entering manitoba would be briefly stopped, and their drivers provided with an informational pamphlet on health risks and international travel restrictions. on april 17, it was announced that anyone travelling to manitoba from outside of the province (including interprovincial travel) would be required by law