COVID-19

As of November 22, 2021 the City of Grande Prairie has 133 active cases of COVID-19, and the County of Grande Prairie has 84 cases.

Cases of COVID-19 across the rest of the province sit at 5,001 active cases. 

Hospitalizations are currently at 475, and a total of 94 Albertans are in intensive care receiving treatment. 

The public is warned about a new scam circulating in the region, revolving around your vaccination status.

Leadership with the Northwestern Health Unit say they’ve been informed of the scam, which involves a resident receiving a message indicating that they’ve won a prize for attending one of the NWHU’s vaccination clinics, and to click a link to claim their winnings.

More than 390,000 Albertans aged five to 11 can get vaccinated as early as Friday (Nov.26).

Premier Jason Kenney, minister of health Jason Copping, and chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, were in attendance at Tuesday's COVID-19 update to announce the next step in Alberta's vaccine rollout. 

According to Copping, parents can book first-dose Pfizer vaccine appointments starting Wednesday at 8 a.m.

"Provincial teams are quickly distributing the newly arrived Pfizer pediatric vaccine to more than 100 locations across Alberta," Copping said.

Leadership with the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board are reporting an additional COVID-19 exposure at Valleyview Public School impacting their closed classroom.

At this time, the Northwestern Health Unit investigation has determined the additional exposure does have plausible and likely sources outside of the school.

The Northwestern Health Unit and KPDSB stress the additional exposures are not considered to be a school outbreak. Anyone not contacted directly can continue to attend school as normal.

There are 129 new COVID-19 cases in Manitoba, bringing the total number of cases to 66,952. 

Out of the new cases, 64 people are not vaccinated, 61 are fully vaccinated, and four are partially vaccinated.

The Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) is distributing surplus personal protective equipment (PPE) to an expanded group of non-health-care organizations across Alberta.

The provincial government is unveiling its ‘Path to Progressing Together’ plan in its latest throne speech, sharing with the public an idea of what they can expect in the coming future.

Lieutenant Governor Janice Filmon opened the fourth session in the 42nd legislature on Tuesday afternoon in Winnipeg by reading the speech from the throne. This is the first session opening for newly-minted Premier Heather Stefanson in the leadership seat.

Leadership with the Northwestern Health Unit says an outbreak of COVID-19 has been declared at an unidentified business in the Kenora region.

During her weekly conference with regional media members on November 23, Medical Officer of Health with the NWHU, Dr. Kit Young Hoon, explained that a cluster of COVID-19 cases had been found at a local business, and affected staff were found to have infected their household members.

Staff with the Northwestern Health Unit are reporting two new cases of COVID-19 in our catchment area.

Today’s cases include one in the Kenora region and one in the Dryden / Red Lake region. The two cases bring the region’s overall total to 16 active cases.

The 16 active cases include 2 in Dryden / Red Lake, 2 in Rainy River and 12 in Kenora.

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford is looking forward to the eventual end of the COVID-19 pandemic, as we continue to take steps towards that goal.

Now, Health Canada has approved the COVID-19 vaccine for youth between the ages of 5 and 11, and appointments are expected to be available in the region by the week of November 29.

Pediatric data on kids between five and 11 from early October showed a safe and strong immune response from two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, which are one-third the size given to teens and adults.