COVID-19

Data from a Shared Health spokesperson shows one outlier while looking at how many healthcare workers are choosing not to be tested or fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Shared health says 158 workers reportedly not willing to follow the Public Health Order mandating full vaccination or regular COVID-19 testing at certain locations will not be paid for their absences.

This represents various positions in the health care system.

Premier Jason Kenney began Tuesday's (Oct.19) update by congratulating everyone elected in last night's municipal elections. He touched on Alberta's senate election and the referendum on equalization payments, however, he opted to wait for official results before commenting further. 

Kenney thanked Albertans for doing their part in helping to bring down the fourth wave, with special mention to healthcare workers. He said Alberta Health Services was able to add up to 203 ICU spaces across the province, which more than doubled the available ICU spaces. 

Free influenza immunization shots now available and health officials are encouraging everyone to roll up their sleeves once again.

Appointments for flu shots can be booked to receive at shot at participating pharmacies, some doctor’s offices, and AHS public health clinics.

You can book an appointment by calling a local Cochrane pharmacy, going to bookvaccine.alberta.ca, or by contacting Health Link at 811.

As well, some pharmacies are welcoming drop-ins.

Dr. Joss Reimer is preparing for a possible vaccine rollout for younger children, potentially as soon as by the end of November.

Pfizer is asking for approval from Health Canada for a COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11 years old. Manitoba's vaccine task force's medical lead, Reimer, says the approval could take as few as two weeks but is expecting  Health Canada to take longer.

Staff with the Northwestern Health Unit are reporting no new cases of COVID-19 in the region today.

As it stands, there’s a total of two active cases of COVID-19 in the NWHU’s catchment area, with both cases located in the Rainy River district.

Manitoba's COVID-19 test rate is slightly over three per cent as of Wednesday morning.

There are 51 new COVID-19 cases in Manitoba, with 36 of the cases in people who are not vaccinated against COVID-19, 12 who are fully vaccinated, and three who are partially vaccinated.

New cases by health region include:

It’s that time of the year again when kids get to dress up as their favorite characters, go trick or treating, and get as much candy as they can.

Halloween is right around the corner and Dr. Kit Young Hoon Medical Officer of Health for the Northwestern Health Unit outlines COVID-19 safety measures to keep kids safe.

“The safety measures for Halloween focus on the same basic principles that we always talk about,” said Young Hoon.

The NWHU has outlined the following recommended safety measures for Halloween:

The province has provided the latest COVID-19 update. 

Premier Jason Kenney began Tuesday's (Oct.19) update by congratulating everyone elected in last night's municipal elections. He touched on Alberta's senate election and the referendum on equalization payments, however, he opted to wait for official results before commenting further. 

There are more than 1,000 active COVID-19 cases in Manitoba.

There are 102 new COVID-19 cases in Manitoba, bringing the total number of cases to 62,332. There are now 1,007 active cases.

Out of Tuesday's new cases, 63 people are not vaccinated, 28 are fully vaccinated, and 11 are partially vaccinated. 

New cases by region include:

• 34 in Northern
• 32 in Southern
• 18 in Winnipeg
• 11 in Interlake-Eastern
• seven in Prairie Mountain

Manitoba's five-day test rate is 3.3 per cent.

The Northwestern Health Unit has reported one new COVID-19 case has been found in the region. 

The newly found case was discovered in the Rainy River Health 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.

In the NWHU there are five active COVID-19 cases connected to the health unit's catchment area. 

To date, the NWHU has performed 117,821 COVID-19 tests with a test positivity rate of 1.01 per cent.