COVID-19

Manitoba announced Wednesday afternoon that it will ease public health orders.

Premier Heather Stefanson says based on current COVID-19 projections, the Manitoba government is taking a cautious path towards reducing public health restrictions over the next several weeks. Stefanson notes the province will also make $16.3 million available to businesses and the arts and culture sector that have been affected by public health orders.

Manitoba continues to report on the recorded number of COVID-19 cases. However, it is important to note this data is limited and should be used with caution. It includes cases confirmed by a PCR test as well as rapid tests given by health-care professionals. Positive test results from rapid antigen tests, which people generally do at home, are not collected or reported. As a result, these numbers are an under-reporting of COVID-19 in the community.

Public health officials advise 14 new deaths in people with COVID-19 are being reported today:

Premier Heather Stefanson and Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin will be updating the public on the new health orders at 12:30 p.m.

The current health orders, which were extended for one week, expire on Tuesday at midnight. The new orders, being announced Wednesday, will replace them.

Stefanson is hoping to be in a position to relax early all restrictions in the spring.

New order changes:

Eleven COVID-19 outbreaks are being declared over. Two new sites, a hospital and a care home, are being considered in outbreaks.

The province says starting Wednesday, testing sites will give an extra COVID-19 test kit for symptomatic households.

There are now 1,576 COVID-19 deaths after seven more people died.

New deaths from Tuesday and Wednesday include:

New data shows we could be passed the worst of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, but hospitalization rates are expected to remain high for the foreseeable future.

There are 54 people currently in intensive care due to COVID-19.

According to the provincial COVID-19 dashboard Tuesday, there are 737 people in the hospital with 636 of those people having active cases of the virus. This is an increase in total cases of two people and three more active cases.

In intensive care, there are 54 people, 46 of which have active cases. 

There are seven new COVID-19 deaths, bringing the total number of people who have died to 1,569.

Studies claim that about one in five households have had at least one case of COVID-19 in the last two months in Canada, highlighting the extreme transmissibility of the Omicron variant.

The new study from the Angus Reid Institute estimates that approximately 21 per cent of Canadian households reported at least one case of COVID-19 since December 1, with an additional 5 per cent likely to have been infected during that period.

As of Monday (January 31, 2022) at 12:01 a.m. the province entered into step one of their three-step reopening plan.

The plan included the opening of restaurants, recreational facilities, bars, and the increase of indoor and outdoor gathering limits.

Kenora-Rainy River MPP, Greg Rickford said in an interview on Monday (January 31, 2022), the reopening is a “new sensation”.

Since Friday, January 28, 6,537 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Alberta. 

However, the provincial active case count has dropped to 37,468.

Hospitalizations increased to a record high of 1,516 while ICU admissions dropped slightly to 99. 

Sadly, another 35 deaths have been reported over the weekend bringing the total in the province to 3,566. 

To date, over 8.3 million doses of the COVID vaccine have been administered to Albertans. 

Nineteen more people with COVID-19 have died since the weekend.

There are 735 people in the hospital with COVID-19, including 633 active cases. This is an increase of 20 total hospitalizations since Friday.

There are 56 people in intensive care with COVID-19, with 47 of those cases being active. This is an increase of four total cases since Friday.

Hospitalizations by health region include: