The MHBA continues to carefully monitor the situation surrounding the spread of the coronavirus in Manitoba. The MHBA has and will continue to recommend to our members that they follow the advice of Health Canada and Manitoba Health’s public health officials.
Here is a further update on MHBA activities:
Event Cancellation Update:
- – The upcoming Breakfast Technical Session that had been rescheduled for April 29th, 2020 has now been cancelled.
- – The Spring Parade Reception scheduled for April 24th, 2020 has now been cancelled. As a result, we are seeing if the Sales Agent Awards can be moved to be part of the June Meet & Greet event.
- – The Winnipeg Home and Garden Show has been rescheduled to October 1-4. We have informed our members who have volunteered to serve at the MHBA Ask a Renovator Booth.
Those who have registered for these events will be notified directly. Any further changes to MHBA events will be communicated to our members as soon as possible.
Parade of Homes:
An update was sent to all participating builder members yesterday afternoon recommending to our members that they follow the advice of Health Canada and Manitoba Health’s public health officials. At this time, federal and provincial public health officials have not recommended or instructed businesses such as show homes to be closed. This, however, could change at any time. Should this change, the MHBA will immediately notify our members directly.
As we had indicated on Friday, builders are free to decide to close their Parade show home or change their hours of operation as a precaution and there will be no penalties assessed by the MHBA for doing so. A number of builders have done so and have notified us of their decision. We have asked builders that they display signage that indicates their show home is closed.
Preventative Measures:
There are a number of preventative measures that the MHBA have recommended that all of our members implement, whether in your offices, showrooms, or show homes.
We are recommending that you implement the following best practices:
- – Post signage at your door asking those who have recently travelled internationally or those who have flu-like symptoms to reconsider entering into your show home/room;
- – Consider limiting the number of groups/people entering your show home/room;
- – Keep hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes stocked and available if possible;
- – Disinfect frequently used surfaces (Door knobs, countertops, handrails, etc.) on a regular basis;
- – Avoid greetings that involve touching, including shaking hands;
- – Wash your hands frequently; and
- – Provide disposable towels/napkins should people wash their hands in your show home/workplace. Please do not use reusable (regular) towels in your bathrooms.
Please share this update with your staff and discuss these important measures and the available options regarding show home hours with your staff.
In regard to the MHBA office, we have not closed but we have taken steps to minimize traffic into the MHBA offices. Steps to maximize social distancing within the office have been in place since last Thursday. We will also have staff working from home regularly until further notice.
The best way to contact the MHBA staff during this time will be by email:
Lanny McInnes, President & CEO – [email protected]
Cyrille McIntosh, Communications & Events Coordinator – [email protected]
Brittany Harris, Member Services Coordinator – [email protected]
Staff voice mail systems are accessible remotely, so all voice messages will continue to be returned as well.
All MHBA Committee and Board meetings will continue as scheduled, but will be held via conference call rather than in person meetings. Meeting details have been provided to directly all committee members.
We appreciate your patience as this is a quickly evolving situation and seems to be changing by the hour. The health and safety of our members, visitors, and staff is of utmost importance to us.
We will attempt to keep you as fully informed on MHBA operations as any further changes are made.