Winnipeg’s Bear Clan kicks off bike patrols amid coronavirus outbreak

The Bear Clan is rolling out a new way to patrol city streets during the novel coronavirus outbreak.

On Thursday volunteers with the community-watch group will do patrols on two-wheels through West Broadway, using a fleet of bicycles the organization picked up with the help of a provincial grant.

Brian Chrupalo, Bear Clan Patrol board chair, says the new rides will allow members to keep socially distancing during the COVID-10 outbreak while still keeping an eye on inner-city neighbourhoods.

“Because of trying to flatten the curve with COVID-19 we are having to use smaller patrols, and by being on bikes we’re able to go in a smaller group but still patrol larger areas,” he explained.

“We’d like to use them as much as we can — it’s a great opportunity to be out and about — and it’s also a great conversation piece when people see them riding around.”