COVID-19

The COVID-19 outbreak at Sioux Lookout’s Meno Ya Win Health Centre is now over.

As of February 15th, more Albertans with immunocompromising conditions are elgible to get a COVID-19 booster.

Youth between the ages of 12 and 17 with underlying health conditions and all First Nations, Métis and Inuit youth in this age group will be eligible to book a booster (third) dose.

In addition, youth aged 12 to 17 with immunocompromising conditions will be eligible to book a booster (fourth) dose. All children aged five to 11 who have specific immunocompromising conditions will also be eligible to book a third dose as part of their primary series.

Route 22 Artist Collective Gallery invites the community to show love for the arts by supporting the “Love Your Gallery” fundraising campaign which begins this month and runs until May. Route 22 has a goal of fifty thousand dollars which will be critical to sustaining and growing the operation. The funding is crucial at this point because many grants that other organizations rely upon for operations are not available until the third or fourth year of successful operation.

Three of northwestern Ontario’s First Nation communities are seeing skyrocketing COVID-19 case counts, and Canada’s military has been called in to assist.

On Thursday (February 17, 2022) the province of Ontario moves into the next phase of its reopening plan.

This phase will see the increase of indoor social gatherings to 50 people, and 100 people outdoors, increasing capacity limits in some settings and removing limits in others.

Though the province is moving to this next step Dr. Kit Young Hoon, Medical Officer of Health for the Northwestern Health Unit is concerned about the effect this may have.

Alberta's Health Minister Jason Copping has shared some of the COVID data behind the province's decision to remove restrictions.

During a live COVID-19 update on Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 15), the minister showed a graph displaying trends in wastewater data which, according to Copping, shows the end of Omicron's peak in the province.

Aside from the case data, Copping also shared some positive hospitalization trends.

It appears a blockade at the international border near Emerson is set to end. The news comes nearly a week after protesters parked trucks and large farm equipment across the north and south bound lanes of PTH 75, blocking commercial traffic from coming and going across the boundary.

On Monday (Feb.14), the province lifted mask mandates for Alberta students from elementary to high school. 

Local divisions, including Elk Island Public, Elk Island Catholic and Sturgeon Public Schools, all followed suit.  

According to education minister Adriana LaGrange, school divisions no longer have the authority to implement their own mask mandates.  

Those aged 12-17 years old won’t have to wait much longer to be eligible for their booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

On Monday (February 14, 2022) the Ontario government announced that as of Friday, February 18, 2022, at 8:00 a.m.,  third dose eligibility will be expanded to youth aged 12-17.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Ontario’s leadership says the province’s economy is finally starting to turn a corner.

In a virtual news conference at Queen’s Park on February 14, Ontario’s Finance Minister, Peter Bethlenfalvy, detailed Ontario’s 2021-2022 third-quarter financial update.

Overall, Ontario is now projecting a $13.1 billion deficit – an $8.4 billion improvement compared to the province’s fall economic statement, where Ontario was expected to see an over $21.5 billion deficit.