COVID-19

At the end of October, the MissionFest team is hoping to inspire church leaders in getting their ministries up and running after the pandemic. 

"Historically MissionFest has been a yearly gathering," says Alison Wells-Dyck, a volunteer coordinator with MissionFest. It's most often held at a big church in Winnipeg over the course of three days. 

Since 2020 and 2021 MissionFest cancelled their yearly events due to the pandemic, they are putting on a smaller online event before their main event. 

Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals have been working on the front lines of this pandemic for the past 18 months and in that time, abuse towards staff has been on the steep incline.  

In a statement released on October 7, 2021, by the leaders of the Lake of the Woods District Hospital, the frequency of both verbal and physical abuse towards staff has increased.   

Manitoba's five-day COVID-19 test rate has dropped Friday.

Out of Friday's 92 new COVID cases, 58 people were not vaccinated, 28 were fully vaccinated, and six were partially vaccinated.

New cases by heath region include:

• 30 in Southern
• 17 in Northern
• 17 in Winnipeg
• 15 in Prairie Mountain
• 13 in Interlake-Eastern

This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases in Manitoba to 61,987. There are 963 active cases and 59,794 recovered people.

Manitoba's test rate is 3.2 per cent.

A care home is asking families to be prepared to help with tasks such as laundry and meals in preparation for possible crushing staff shortages.

In a letter leaked on Reddit, Salem Home in Winkler says they could be facing a staff shortage once the COVID-19 vaccine mandate comes into effect for their staff Monday.

"It is for this reason, with saddened hearts, we need to inform you of a contingency plan for what may happen next week," the letter reads.

Chief Medical Officer for Alberta, Dr. Deena Hinshaw announced in her COVID-19 update on Thursday evening that flu season is back.  

“Our annual influenza campaign officially starts on Monday and we will be releasing more information tomorrow on how to book your appointment. While influenza and COVID-19 are very different illnesses several of the symptoms are the same. Fortunately, similar prevention strategies included good hygiene.” 

With this fourth wave of the pandemic, STARS Air Ambulance has been frequenting the skies of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Inter-facility transfers for the organization have jumped from 11 per cent of missions to 21 per cent of missions.

Chief Medical Officer of STARS Air Ambulance, J.N Armstrong says those transfers have been unusual but necessary to help alleviate pressures on ICU's in the prairies.

WASHINGTON — A White House official says the U.S. will announce today that it will reopen its land borders to vaccinated non-essential visitors on Nov. 8.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a policy not yet made public, says travelers will need to show proof of vaccination to Customs and Border Protection officials upon request.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently working on the operational details, such as what will constitute acceptable proof and which “very limited” exceptions might be allowed.

A White House official says the U.S. will announce today that it will reopen its land borders to vaccinated non-essential visitors on Nov. 8.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a policy not yet made public, says travellers will need to show proof of vaccination to Customs and Border Protection officials upon request.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently working on the operational details, such as what will constitute acceptable proof and which “very limited” exceptions might be allowed.

The Northwestern Health Unit has confirmed one new positive 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.

Currently, there are 3 active COVID-19 cases connected to the NWHU catchment area. 

The next COVID-19 case update from the NWHU will be on Monday, October 18, 2021. 

The Ontario government has released instructions to download your vaccine QR code along with the Verify Ontario app.

Your QR code will give you access into businesses such as restaurants and movie theaters.

For a smoother transition for Ontarians to download their QR code, the government has laid a download plan based on your birth month.

• January to April: October 15

• May to August: October 16

• September to December: October 17