Canadian Province Of Manitoba Invokes Emergency Powers Over COVID-19 - Premier

TORONTO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st March, 2020) Manitoba became the eighth Canadian province to invoke emergency measures amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak following the declaration of a state of emergency by Premier Brian Pallister on Friday.

"Today, we are taking further decisive action by declaring a state of emergency in the province [of Manitoba]," Pallister said at a press conference on Friday. "This will be valid for 30 days and prior to the end of that 30 days, of course, we will evaluate to see if there is a need to continue."

The declaration limits both indoor and outdoor gatherings to 50 individuals.

The measure was necessary, he added, given the unprecedented circumstances the province is facing.

So far, the provinces of British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and now Manitoba have declared a state of emergency, while Alberta, Quebec and Prince Edward Island (PEI) have declared a state of public health emergency, as Canada struggles to contain the spread of the disease.

In Canada, the number of confirmed cases of infection reached 925 on Friday - nearly a 20 percent jump from the 772 confirmed COVID-19 cases announced on Thursday - while the death toll rose to 12, according to the country's chief medical official Dr. Theresa Tam.

According to Johns Hopkins University, almost 260,000 cases of COVID-19 infections have been confirmed globally, while the number of fatalities has now eclipsed 11,000. More than 87,000 have recovered.