COVID-19

Mail delays could be common in Manitoba and across the country as Canada's crown corporation experiences COVID-19-related staffing issues.

Manitobans are not alone in noticing their mail being delayed. Canada Post says this is occurring across the country as they are experiencing staffing issues due to the pandemic and the effects of omicron. 

Non-emergent and non-urgent surgeries, diagnostic imaging (DI), procedures and ambulatory clinical activity has been halted at LWDH until further notice.  

The Lake of the Woods District Hospital (LWDH) shared in a press release on January 7, 2022, that there will interruptions to hospital services following a directive issued by the Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health on January 5, 2022.  

The Omicron variant is spreading at a rapid pace and Strathmore is not exempt from it. With 151 active cases of COVID-19 in town limits, there is a chance you may have come into contact with someone who has it.  

This is why rapid tests are so influential in assessing the risk of transmission. With the new variant, oftentimes, people are asymptomatic and spread COVID-19 unknowingly.  

The Northwestern Health Unit has declared a suspected COVID-19 outbreak at the LaVerendrye General Hospital in Fort Frances.

This comes as one patient has tested positive for COVID-19. In a release dated January 8, Riverside Health Care says they’re currently working to test all inpatients, as well as continuing to test all staff members twice a week.

Fort Saskatchewan and Strathcona County are ranked at the top of the province, but not for the reasons you'd hope to see.

Strathcona County is reporting the third-highest while Fort Saskatchewan currently has the fifth-highest active case rate per capita in Alberta, higher than Calgary or Edmonton. 

Eligible frontline workers in Kenora, Dryden and Vermilion Bay are now able to access free emergency childcare services due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and Ontario’s shutdown.

Eligible professions include healthcare workers, those who work in the administration or distribution of vaccines, pharmacy workers, those who work in locations with a pharmacy within, police officers, court staff, firefighters, paramedics, correctional staff and more.

For almost two years now Ontario along with the rest of the world has dealt with the serious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest public health restrictions that came into effect in Ontario on Wednesday (January 5, 2021), have left people wondering if and when the pandemic will turn into an “endemic”.

The region's top doctor, Dr. Kit Young Hoon, Medical Officer of Health for the Northwestern Health Unit said she remains hopeful that there is an end in sight.

The Ontario government has announced plans to change the usage of rapid COVID-19 tests, as the provincial testing system continues to face ongoing pressure due to the spread of the Omicron variant.

Rapid tests are still hard to come by – especially in northwestern Ontario. That’s why the province is now limiting rapid testing for those considered most vulnerable.

Rapid tests are now being reserved for test-to-work policies to allow employees to return to work after illness, regular testing of workers in high-risk jobs and for people who aren’t eligible for PCR tests.

It was announced recently that the provincial government is investing funds into specialized vaccine supports for indigenous communities.  

The Ontario government will be investing $30 million in vaccine supports for indigenous communities to fight against COVID-19 and the Omicron variant.  

Health and Seniors Care Minister Audrey Gordon says "nothing is off the table" as they monitor and gather data about the omicron variant.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are rising as case numbers soar with the omicron variant. The current set of prevention orders will continue for three more weeks in an effort to ease the strain on the health care system.