The Government of Manitoba is extending the state of emergency for the fifth time. 

First announced on March 20, the province has been in a state of emergency for five months. The latest announcement will bring Manitoba into its sixth month of health and safety-related orders.

Extensions had previously been announced on April 18, May 17, June 15 and July 14.

"The declaration enables the government to act quickly on a broad range of supportive measures to stop the spread of Covid-19 and to allow for greater flexibility during the pandemic and give Manitobans the time they need to work around the interruptions this pandemic has caused," the province's website says.

The new 30-day extension will take effect at four p.m. on Wednesday, August 12.

The new end date of September 11, 2020, will amount to a total of 144 days under the sate of emergency. 

The province says the state allows "the powers set out in section 10(1) and 10(2) of The Emergency Measures Act to enable the province to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic."

"The self-isolation order continue to require that anyone entering Manitoba, regardless of whether it was from another country or another province must self-isolate for 14 days until such time as the orders are terminated by the chief provincial public health officer," the province says in a statement.

The province is emphasizing that the isolation orders do not apply to those entering Manitoba from western provinces or north-eastern Ontario who do not display COVID-19 symptoms. 

Gatherings sizes and other pubic health orders are not affected by the extension.

The state of emergency does not affect the current public health orders, which are issued by the Chief Provincial Public Health Officer under The Public Health Act.