WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government has changed course and is going to make masks mandatory in many schools.
Premier Brian Pallister says the change is being made out of an abundance of caution and after public feedback.
The province had planned to reopen schools next month with a strong recommendation that masks be used.
Pallister says masks will now be mandatory for students and staff in Grades 4 to 12, in classes where physical distancing cannot be maintained.
Manitoba's chief public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, says the government may make masks mandatory in other indoor areas in the future.
Roussin announced 15 new COVID-19 cases and the death of a man in his 60s, who had been in intensive care in the Southern Health Authority region.
That brings the total fatalities from COVID-19 in Manitoba to 12.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 19, 2020.
