Manitoba RCMP is investigating a Steinbach-area church after reports that a service was taking place Sunday morning — which is a violation of public health rules under the province’s new, stricter COVID-19 guidelines.
Police said they were called to a church in the RM of Hanover just after 8:30 a.m. Sunday, and while they spoke with an individual on site, no fines were immediately issued.
They are, however, continuing to investigate.
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The incident comes just one day after a group of nearly two dozen area pastors signed an open letter urging their congregations to abide by public health orders.
The Steinbach area has been a hotspot for pandemic-related controversy in recent weeks. A rally that saw hundreds of mask-free people protesting the province’s restrictions drew the ire of a wide range of officials — including Steinbach mayor Earl Funk and Manitoba premier Brian Pallister — the previous weekend.
At Monday’s COVID-19 press conference — where the province announced a record-setting 546 new cases — chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin weighed in on the controversy.
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Coronavirus: Steinbach churches call on Christians to abide by public health orders
Roussin said he heard reports of a number of faith-based organizations still holding in-person services over the weekend, and pleaded with those taking part to stop.
“It should be quite clear, these orders are not here to restrict your right to worship, these orders are here to save lives,” he said.
“When we have a test positivity of 14 per cent, we see in some areas of up to 40 per cent, we can’t have in-person gatherings.
“We need to reduce these numbers and large, in-person gatherings put people there at risk, they put the community at large at risk, they put our health-care workers at risk.”
