COVID-19

Students and staff are set to return to school on Monday (January 17, 2022), with the promise by the provincial government to be kept everyone safe with additional personal protective equipment (PPE).

Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education laid out the return to school plan on Wednesday that included distributing more masks, rapid antigen test kits, and high-efficiency particulate arrestance filters.

Alison Smith, the Superintendent of Business Services for the Kenora Catholic District School Board (KCDSB), said they have received at least the promised N95 masks.

It’s been just under two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, and despite the majority of Ontarians following the rules and following our public health safety measures, restrictions and lockdowns continue.

Ontario’s currently in Step Two of its Roadmap to Reopen, which is set to stay in effect until January 26 at the earliest, and it could be extended at any time by provincial leadership.

“It’s frustrating,” says Kenora MP Eric Melillo. “We need to ensure Canadians have the tools they need to live with this, rather than the widespread shutdowns that we’re seeing.”

Sunday services will look very different this weekend for New Brunswick residents.

The next two weeks will have New Brunswick residents under the strictest COVID-19 restrictions their province has planned for this winter.

“These measures are serious, and that is because we are facing a very serious situation," Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health.

They are being moved to Level 3 of the COVID-19 winter plan which includes no gatherings outside of the household, and closing gyms, salons, and more.

Public health officials announced Thursday, updated guidance for contact tracing and case management in Manitoba schools as the omicron variant continues to spread across the province.

Public health officials announced Thursday, updated guidance for contact tracing and case management in Manitoba schools as the omicron variant continues to spread across the province.

RVS stated that on Wednesday, January 11th, they had 129 absences out of 1,412 teaching staff.

In a written statement, Superintendent Greg Luterbach wrote that "After all substitutes were placed in classrooms, we needed to provide coverage for 24 teachers with school-based staff. We’re also prepared to move students very quickly temporarily to at-home online learning. With our students’ best interest at heart, any decision to move a class or grade to at-home online learning will be made carefully and out of necessity."

There is an estimated 153,320-case backlog in diagnostics and surgeries in Manitoba, but Doctors Manitoba cautions that this estimate is from before the omicron variant arrived in the province.

Doctors Manitoba is asking people to be patient as they face staff absenteeism alongside rising COVID-19 omicron pressures.

"Manitobans need hope and we absolutely need to look after each other," President Dr. Kristjan Thompson says in a Thursday press conference. 

He says they will not stop fighting to get Manitobans the care they need.

The province is edging on 500 people in the hospital who have tested positive for COVID-19.

As of Thursday morning, there are 499 people in the hospital with COVID-19. This includes 463 active cases.

There are 47 people in intensive care, with all but two of those people having active cases of the virus.

There are nine new deaths since Wednesday, bringing the total number of deaths to 1,438.

It is pretty much a given that Cochranites know the Cochrane Public Library lends books. However, as Jessie Pepin Community Outreach and Program Librarian points out, the pandemic has created an opportunity for people to realize how much more the library has to offer. “People are recognizing all the things that we can offer them. I think it was easy to think that we just offer books but from our borrowing stats, we can see that it’s the board games, it’s the snowshoes, the puzzles, power tools when people were renovating, and they couldn’t the equipment that they needed.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe will be working from home for the next few days. 

Thursday morning, he stated via social media that he has tested positive for COVID-19 on a rapid antigen test. As a result of the positive test, he will be working from home during his five-day isolation period. 

He added that he is feeling fine, and hasn’t been experiencing any symptoms.