COVID-19

There were 41 new cases of COVID-19 reported on Friday, July 16 with the positivity rate remaining below one per cent. 

The province has 579 active cases. 

There was a slight increase in hospitalizations to 110 with ICU admissions dropping to 28. 

Sadly, another two deaths were reported bringing the total in the province to 2,314.

Close to five million doses of COVID vaccine have been administered with 74.5 per cent of the province having received one shot.

A reduced budget was one of the topics of discussion at the Dryden GM Ice Dogs General Membership Meeting back on July 6, 2021.

A 15 per cent reduction to the Ice Dogs yearly budget has been caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Loss of revenue was also a factor due to a six-game season last year with minimal fans due to restrictions allowed and a shortened season the year before.

Ontario has moved into Step 3 of the Roadmap to Reopen.

Step 3 sees additional indoor services reopen with larger numbers of people and restrictions in place.

The province will remain in Step 3 for at least 21 days and until 80 per cent of the eligible population aged 12 and over has received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 75% have received their second, with no public health unit having less than 70% of their eligible population aged 12 and over fully vaccinated.

Health officials are sharing the results of Wednesday's walk-in Vax-A-Thon.

In a release, they say 9,070 doses of vaccine were given out, with an estimated 20 per cent of those first doses. They also say approximately 30 per cent of the doses were given to youth. This has helped bring the total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses to 1,647,353.

Wednesday's Vax-A-Thon organizers prepared more than 20,000 doses for the event. Numbers may have been less than half of what they prepared for, but the province is thanking everyone who attended.

One Manitoban remains in Ontario ICU care following an initiative to provide care to dozens of COVID-19 patients while Manitoba's hospitals maxed out capacity.

As vaccination rates continue to rise COVID-19 case rates lower in Manitoba.

The five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 2.9 per cent across the province and 2.7 per cent in Winnipeg, a first for 2021.

Friday's 39 new cases include:

The Winnipeg Art Gallery is waiting to open its doors to the public - here's why.

A downtown art gallery is excited to see visitors again but before they do that they have some work to do.

"We were the first to open in the last round of reopenings. We have always been really quick to reopen to be there for the public," Amy Rebecca Harrison, Engagement Supervisor says, noting that this time it will be different. "Being able to actually be in the same space as some of these incredible artworks, it can't be matched at home and it can't be matched online."

For the first time in over 9 days, one new positive COVID-19 test result has been confirmed by the Northwestern Health Unit. 

The positive test result was reported from the Kenora Health Region, which also makes it the only active case in the NWHU catchment area.

Follow up with the person involved and their contacts have started according to protocol. Anyone who is identified as a contact for these cases will be contacted directly.

The Manitoba Camping Association is disappointed with the new public health orders as they do not include any overnight camp option.

"It's all over the place right now. As far as what the government has said to us is that as of June 26, day camps could operate with 20 people. With the recent announcement on Wednesday, the new public health orders have increased the day camp size to 25 and overnight camps are still prohibited," says Kim Scherger, the Executive Director of the Manitoba Camping Association (MCA). 

The COVID-19 numbers for Thursday, July 15 saw 53 new cases with 107 people in hospital and 31 in ICU. 

Sadly, two additional deaths have been reported bringing the total in the province to 2,312.

There are 578 active cases in the province and the positivity rate remains below one per cent. 

To date, over 4.9 million doses of the COVID vaccine have been administered in the province. 

The breaks down to 74.4 per cent of the population having received one shot while 57.1 per cent of Albertans are now fully immunized. 

The COVID-19 test positivity rate in Winnipeg is sitting slightly above three per cent.

There are 42 new COVID-19 cases in Manitoba. 

New cases include: