MANITOBA AXES MASK MANDATE AS 71% FULLY VACCINATED

The mask mandate is being removed in Manitoba as the province moves from COVID-19 restrictions to public health recommendations in its next step of reopening. “We are now in a position to reopen more, sooner, as we have achieved our highest vaccination rates yet,” Premier Brian Pallister said Tuesday. Pallister said Manitobans will be able to enjoy more freedoms when the rules change Saturday. All restrictions are removed for private gatherings and businesses, including hair salons, libraries, retail stores, malls and gyms. Firms will make their own decisions about requiring masks or restricting the number of people inside. Eighty per cent of eligible people have received one dose of a vaccine and more than 71 per cent are fully vaccinated with two doses. The next phase of the plan was set for Sept. 6 and required 75 per cent, or about 25,000 more people, to have two vaccine doses.