COVID-19

A change to Alberta's Restrictions Exemption Program (REP) will soon come into effect.

Starting tomorrow (Nov. 15), only the newest Alberta proof of vaccination that includes a QR code will be accepted to enter facilities operating under the REP. 

The change was first announced in mid-October by Health Minister Jason Copping.

Other forms of Alberta proof of vaccination, including older paper versions and vaccine documentation from pharmacies, will not be allowed.

As Alberta, other Canadian provinces and places throughout the world continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic with the emphasis on getting vaccinated against the virus to stop the spread, uptake on another important stab in the arm grew quickly over the past two weeks.  

As of Thursday, the number of influenza vaccines administered in the province was 916,184, an increase of more than 626,000 over the number that had been administered just two weeks ago.  

The provincial government reported 53 new cases of COVID-19 Saturday but did so with a slight caveat. The case numbers that were released were due to incomplete data being downloaded into the provincial database. Noting this, they stated the numbers released on Sunday will include the data that was excluded from the report on Saturday.  

In addition to the new cases, there were two deaths linked to COVID-19 included in the update. There have now been 893 deaths in Saskatchewan linked to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in March of 2020. 

The provincial government reported 122 new cases of COVID-19 Friday, along with five deaths linked to the virus. There were also 102 recoveries reported. This brought the number of active cases of COVID-19 to 1,443. 

Geographically, the most new cases were reported in the Central East region, with 27. There were 25 new cases in the Regina area, and 21 in the Saskatoon area. Another 13 new cases were reported in the Southeast, 11 in the North Central, eight in the North West, five in the South West, four in the South Central and one in the Far North West. 

The Christmas season is just around the corner, and the Salvation Army Kenora Community Ministries is gearing up for another Christmas Kettle campaign.

The campaign will officially begin on November 25, 2021, and run through until 18, 2021. This year, the red kettles will be out every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at Walmart, Canadian Tire, and No Frills.

The Kenora LCBO will additionally be hosting a location on December 4, 11, and 18, 2021.

You have the weekend to figure out how to download or save your vaccine record QR code for proof of COVID-19 vaccination. 

Dr. Deena Hinshaw explains, "Beginning Monday, November 15th, Albertans’ vaccine record must include the QR code in order to enter any business or venue taking part in the program. This means Alberta vaccination records without a QR code, including paper immunization records received at your vaccination appointment, will no longer be accepted."

A spokesperson for Shared Health says they will need to start rescheduling some procedures in Manitoba in order to create more ICU beds.

Monika Warren is Provincial COVID-19 Operations Chief at Shared Health. She says as of midnight Friday, there were 86 patients in ICU, including 30 with COVID-19. Manitoba's normal pre-COVID-19 ICU baseline is 72.

"Over the past number of weeks we have been preparing for this increase in hospitalization by taking a very close look at our patient demand for our hospital beds and our available capacity," notes Warren.

Fully vaccinated Canadian travelers were finally able to cross into the United States for non-essential reasons on Monday through land or sea crossings.

This was the first time residents were able to travel down south since March of 2020 when the border closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the struggles Canadians have faced early on is the cost of the PCR test that is required to be taken 72 hours before entering back into Canada.

Kenora MP, Eric Melillo commented on the struggle in an interview today.

Manitoba's Health Minister says rising case numbers and transmission of COVID-19 throughout the province is behind new public health orders announced on Friday.

"Case counts and hospitalization rates are rising," Minister Audrey Gordon says, "and we must be proactive in protecting our healthcare system and ensure we have hospital beds available to continue to provide care for patients in need." Gordon made the announcement alongside Dr. Brent Roussin at a press conference.

The Northwestern Health Unit has reported zero new cases of COVID-19 have been found in the region. 

Currently, there are four active cases in the region. 

Follow up with the person involved and their contacts has started according to protocol. Anyone who is identified as a contact for this case will be contacted directly.