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Manitoba’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic so far has been on point, but it’s time to take the precautions a step further.

The province should follow in the steps of the Northwest Territories and ban all non-essential travel in and out of the province, effectively closing off its borders to the rest of Canada and the world.

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Though the details are not completely clear yet, I am assuming supply lines will be kept open, similar to the closure of the U.S. border.

Those who are found in conflict with this travel ban are subject to a $10,000 fine and six months in prison. They are not messing around.

This is with just one positive test, from someone who travelled to exotic locations like B.C. and Alberta.

For Manitoba, who has 18 confirmed cases and one probable case, the window is closing on the opportunity to stop new cases from flooding in from our provincial cousins.

Worldwide, we are over 303,000 cases of COVID-19, and in Canada we broke the 1,200-case mark on Saturday. The novel coronavirus is just starting to get its legs under it here and, especially in Alberta, cases are spiking. My home province is suddenly up to 195 cases, B.C. is up to 424 cases and Ontario to 377.