COVID-19

With Stage 1 of re-opening beginning on Monday, the City of Grande Prairie is re-introducing some outdoor fitness and recreation offerings.

These include:

As of May 27, 60.3 per cent of eligible Albertans have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. 

With 60 per cent of eligible Albertans vaccinated, Stage 2 easing could begin on June 10, subject to hospitalizations being below 500 and trending downwards. 

The two-week waiting period begins once the 60 per cent trigger has been met to provide time for the vaccine to take effect. 

According to a news release from the provincial government, this afternoon (May 28), 60 per cent of eligible Albertans have now been vaccinated with at least one shot.

This benchmark means that Stage 2 easing of restrictions could begin on June 10, subject to hospitalizations being below 500 and trending downwards.

The two-week waiting period begins once the 60 per cent trigger has been met to provide time for the vaccine to take effect.

As of today, the number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 remains above the 500 threshold and sits at 517.

Authorities say the legal actions being taken against an anti-mask rally leader and others are a natural progression of previous enforcement efforts. 

Inspector Nick Paulet of the Winnipeg Police Service says six individuals have an arrest warrant out for them, including an anti-mask rally leader under the Provincial Offences Act of not following the Public Health Orders. The Public Safety Investigations Unit issued the warrants to individuals not following the Public Health Orders, which Paulet says could come from a variety of health order violations. 

The Northwestern Health Unit will be hosting a couple of walk-in COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Sioux Lookout over the next two days.

These clinics are open to anyone that is 12 years old or older on the day of the clinic and hasn't received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The clinics will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sioux Lookout Recreation Centre on Friday, May 28 and Saturday, May 29.

As Manitobans pack up their desks Friday, Public Health is explaining why they are asking people to work from home.

In the upcoming Public Health Orders, the Chief Public Health Officer has asked workplaces to allow their employees to work from home. Dr. Jazz Atwal, the Deputy Public Health Officer in Manitoba, says, for the most part, workplaces have been safe and workplaces are not an issue.

There are more than 300 people in Manitoba hospitals receiving COVID-19 care.

Public health officials advise no new deaths in people with COVID-19 have been reported today.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 12.5 per cent provincially and 14 per cent in Winnipeg. As of 9:30 a.m. today, 497 new cases of the virus have been identified. However, four cases have been removed due to data correction. This brings the net-new number of cases today to 493 and the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba to 50,144.

Right now, the Cochrane and District Horticultural Society is selling plants and other gardening supplies in support of the Cochrane Public Library's gardening lending library, but you have to move quickly to make a purchase.

The cutoff to purchase items in the virtual Spring Plant and Seed Fundraiser is tonight, Friday, May 28, at 9 p.m.

Event organizer Lynda Sweet says they started with over 300 items, including pods, annuals, perennials, vegetables, herbs, containers, and house plants. There's also a selection of books on an assortment of gardening topics.

The Northwestern Health Unit wants to see schools reopen next week.

On Thursday, Premier Doug Ford sent an open letter to medical experts, health organizations and children’s hospitals asking for advice on how Ontario could reopen schools before the end of the school year, next month.

Ontarians will be able to get their second dose of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine sooner than originally expected.

Premier Doug Ford announced the province's plan to accelerate the second dose appointments, starting with the most vulnerable population.

"Starting on Monday [at 7 a.m. CDT], second doses will be offered to anyone over 80 years, followed by anyone over 70 years beginning the week of June 14," said Premier Ford.