Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 6, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba <s> ■e- C MAK -e- PAGE A1 Jungle out there Amazon prepares to turn Winnipeg warehouse into ¡ delivery centre / B5 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020 A A MB FOUNDED IN 1872 ■ & & & ^^A A^^ Wmip«[ tree Press ► CONNECT WITH CANADA'S HIGHEST READERSHIP RATE WEATHER: ISOLATED SHOWERS. HIGH 19 — LOW 5 Province to curtail hours of bars, licensed restaurants to slow spread of COVID-19 Last call for alcohol now 10 p.m. LARRY KUSCH PUBLIC health officials are curtailing the hours of bars and licensed restaurants in the Winnipeg metropolitan region and ordering establishments to obtain contact information from a representative of each table served. The new public health order — the latest in the fight to curb COVID-19 in Winnipeg — will take effect at 6 p.m. Wednesday and will last as long as the region remains in code orange or restricted status. Licensed premises will not be permitted to sell liquor later than 10 p.m. They will have to ensure all customers have departed by 11 p.m. However, they can sell food for takeout or delivery beyond those hours. Staff will be required to obtain contact information in writing from at least one person in each party and retain it for 21 days, after which it must be destroyed. The number of people at any table cannot exceed 10. The new order will also prohibit people from playing pool or throwing darts in licensed premises, although activities that can be done while seated, such as playing VLTs, can continue. Dancing will also be prohibited. Retail liquor sales outlets are not affected by the order. Dr. Brent Roussin, the province’s chief public health officer, said the province will close licensed premises earlier because officials have discov- ered that transmission of the corona-virus at such establishments tends to occur later in the evening, presumably after patrons have consumed more liquor. “It’s really where our epi(demiology) has pointed us right now,” he told a news conference Monday. The province announced the new restrictions after consulting with the bar and restaurant industry. Rous-sin acknowledged the new rules will “have big impacts” on licensed establishments but he said the industry realizes that action was needed to stem rising case counts in the capital region. “Most people wanted to be part of the solution,” he said. The province also plans to limit noise levels in licensed premises, although it has yet to develop guidelines. The new rules were announced a week after the Winnipeg metropolitan region was placed on restricted status, which included the mandating of mask-wearing in all indoor public places. On Monday, Manitoba recorded 51 new cases of COVID-19, including 35 in the Winnipeg health region. There were 12 new cases in Interlake-Eastern health region, three in Southern Health and one in Northern health region. The current five-day test positivity rate is 2.4 per cent provincewide and three per cent inside Winnipeg. There are 23 people in hospital with COVID-19, including six in intensive care. Those hospitalized range in age from 17 to 88, while those in intensive care include people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, Roussin said. On Sunday, the province announced a 23rd coronavirus-related death: a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions who resided at Heritage Lodge personal care home in Winnipeg. Eleven residents and staff members have tested positive for the virus there. At Parkview Place personal care home, there have been 24 cases, including four staff, and three deaths. Meanwhile, the cluster of cases at John Pritchard School on Henderson Highway now totals 38. larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca • MORE COVERAGE ON A2-4 0 Arrest warrants issued in city hate-crime case 'They aren't coming back' DEAN PRITCHARD ARREST warrants have been issued for three members of a Winnipeg family accused of staging a hate crime at their now shuttered River Heights restaurant after they moved to California in advance of their impending trial. Alexander and Oxana Berent and their son Maxim Berent made national headlines last year after claiming their Corydon Avenue restaurant, BerMax Caffé + Bistro, had been the target of four anti-Semitic attacks. Days after the final alleged attack, police charged the Berents with public mischief, saying security video from multiple locations cast doubt on their claims. A trial set for Oct. 13 was cancelled last week after court heard the three accused are in Los Angeles, with no expectation that they will return. “They aren’t coming back at this point from Los Angeles,” Crown attorney Dave Mann told provincial court Associate Chief Judge Anne Krahn. Krahn issued arrest warrants for the three accused “in anticipation of them failing to appear for that trial.” An affidavit filed by the family confirmed they had relocated to California in January and claimed they were receiving support from a local synagogue after being ostracized in Winnipeg. Last month, Krahn denied a motion by the Berents to try them remotely from California. At a hearing last week, the Berents withdrew a motion to adjourn the trial. • HATE, CONTINUED ON A2 PLAYTIME OVER Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre cancels season, plans smaller shows owing to pandemic / Cl 0 MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre artistic director Kelly Thornton (left) and executive director Camilla Holland sit on the empty stage Monday after announcing the season was cancelled. 'I feel good': Trump out of hospital, returns to White House ZEKE MILLER, JILL COLVIN AND AAMER MADHANI BETHESDA, Md. — U.S. President Donald Trump staged a dramatic return to the White House Monday night after leaving the military hospital where he was receiving an unprecedented level of care for COVID-19. He immediately ignited a new controversy by declaring that despite his illness the nation should not fear the virus that has killed more than 210,000 Americans — and then he entered the White House without a protective mask. Trump’s message alarmed infectious disease experts and suggested the president’s own illness had not caused him to rethink his often-cava-lier attitude toward the disease, which has also infected the first lady and several White House aides, including new cases revealed on Monday. Landing at the White House on Marine One, Trump gingerly climbed the South Portico steps, removed his mask and declared, “I feel good.” He gave a double thumbs-up to the departing helicopter from the portico terrace, where aides had arranged American flags for the sunset occasion. He entered the White House, where aides were visible milling about the Blue Room, without wearing a face covering. The president left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where his doctor, Navy Cdr. Sean Conley, said earlier Monday that the president remains contagious and would not be fully “out of the woods” for another week but that Trump had met or exceeded standards for discharge from the hospital. Trump is expected to continue his recovery at the White House, where the reach of the outbreak that has infected the highest levels of the U.S. government is still being uncovered. Still, just a month before the election and anxious to project strength, Trump tweeted before leaving the hospital, “Will be back on the Campaign Trail soon!!!” And in case anyone missed his don’t-worry message earlier, he rushed out a new video from the White House. • TRUMP, CONTINUED ON A2 INSIDE TESTY ABOUT TEST SITES Province looks to double city test sites, opposition wonders what's taking so long / A4 ASSISTED DYING REVISITED CLASS STATUS Ottawa reintroduces legislation to amend law on medical assistance in dying / B4 Indigenous underrepresented as teachers in schools: report / B1 NEW NAME ON STREETS Thunderbirdz joins the Winnipeg roster of volunteer community patrols / B3 -e- -e- A_01_Oct-06-20_FP_01.indd A1 0 2020-10-05 10:30 PM ;