COVID-19

Minister Cliff Cullen says a "misinformation campaign" has taken hold of the public's opinion on Bill 64 but the leader of the Manitoba School Boards Association disagrees.

Cullen says the Manitoba Teachers' Society, the NDP, and the Manitoba School Boards Association have a misleading political campaign against the Conservative government's education changes.

"Unfortunately the purpose of their campaign is to instill fear and anxiety in parents and educators," Cullen says.

The province of Ontario announced Monday that they will be allowing non-essential travel into the province once again later this week, but how will Manitoba's own restrictions affect you when you return home?

Dr. Roussin says that for the most part, people will need to self-isolate for 14-days upon returning to the province, but there is good news for cottage owners and essential workers.

The province says while there are lower case numbers, hospitals continue to be filled with COVID-19 patients. 

In the hospital, there are 297 Manitobans in and outside of Manitoba. This includes 25 Manitobans in Ontario ICU and one in Alberta ICU, and 60 in Manitoba's ICUs. Of those hospitalized, 77 are no longer infectious. 

Twenty-six Manitobans who were being treated out of province have returned home.

Starting Tuesday, a super site in Garden City will be doing more walk-in vaccinations. 

Those who received their first COVID-19 vaccines on or before May 10 can now get their COVID-19 vaccine. Indigenous people and those who have specific health conditions can also book their second dose, as previously announced.

As of 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, June 16, restrictions to the Ontario/Manitoba border will be lifted, allowing people from the west to enter the province. 

The announcement was made by Kenora/Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford on Monday morning in an exclusive interview with Q104. 

"As it stands, there are no plans to continue the border restrictions as of Wednesday. We want to thank our finest men and women in blue who've done a great job of keeping traffic control and keeping us safe. We believe we are in a position that the restrictions can be lifted," says Rickford 

The Northwestern Health Unit has confirmed 1 new positive COVID-19 test result in the region.

The positive test result was reported from the Dryden/Red Lake Health Region. Follow up with the persons involved and their contacts have started according to protocol. Anyone who is identified as a contact for these cases will be contacted directly.

Due to recent low case numbers, NWHU must move back to reporting by 4 larger areas to protect the privacy of individuals.

The Northwestern Health Unit will be hosting a number of COVID-19 vaccine walk-in clinics this week.

June 14

Dryden at the arena from 1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Kenora at the recreation centre from 1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

June 15

Dryden at the arena from 1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Kenora at the recreation centre from 1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Rainy River at the Rainy River High School from 1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

June 16

Dryden at the arena from 1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, marked the easing of restrictions in long-term care homes, bringing back a sense of normalcy to residents of those facilities.

When the COVID-19 pandemic started back on March 13, 2020, it created harder restrictions in long-term care homes, causing residents to have very little to no interaction with their family members or loved ones.

Carla Devlin-Scott and Nicole Vingerhoeds both have family members in long-term care homes and this pandemic has created a real struggle for them and their families.

The province is offering $3 million in cash in an attempt to get more people to get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. 

On Saturday, Premier Jason Kenney announced the "Open for Summer" vaccine lottery.

There are three $1-million prizes available for any Albertan aged 18 or older who have had at least one dose.

The first grand prize draw will happen the day we enter Stage Three of the "Open for Summer Plan". 

As of Friday, nearly 69 per cent of Albertans aged 12 and over had received their first dose.  

The Northwestern Health Unit has reported no new cases of COVID-19 today.

There are 5 active cases in the NWHU catchment area. Three in the Kenora Health Hub, one in the Sioux Lookout Health Hub and 1 now in the Emo Health Hub.