COVID-19

Alberta has topped the 30,000 mark for active COVID cases.

But Premier Jason Kenney says with a positivity rate of 30 per cent, the government's well aware there are even more cases out there.

He's calling on the federal government for help.

"I'm calling on the government of Canada to help up out with that by taking immediate action to authorize the use of Pfizer's COVID anti-viral pill Paxlavid that was recently approved for use in both Europe and the United States and other jurisdictions," Kenney said.

Alberta has topped the 30,000 mark for active COVID-19 cases.

But Premier Jason Kenney says with a positivity rate of 30 per cent, the government's well aware there are even more cases out there.

He's calling on the federal government for help.

"I'm calling on the Government of Canada to help up out with that by taking immediate action to authorize the use of Pfizer's COVID anti-viral pill Paxlavid that was recently approved for use in both Europe and the United States and other jurisdictions," Kenney said.

The Manitoba government announced today it is taking a proactive measure and shifting to a one-week remote learning period for most Manitoba students after the holiday break. The move will help ensure schools can implement enhanced measures for in-person learning, according to Premier Heather Stefanson and Education Minister Cliff Cullen.

Most students in Manitoba will have one week of online learning to start the winter term off.

Premier Heather Stefanson, Education Minister Cliff Cullen, and Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Jazz Atwal are announcing a phased approach to in-class learning to kick off the winter semester.

Stefanson says this is "to help ensure schools can implement enhanced measures for the safe return of in-person learning."

Students will learn remotely starting on January 10, returning to the classroom on January 17.

A Grassy Narrows First Nation family is grieving the loss of their home after a devastating fire left the family stranded.

Clara and JJ Kokokopenace lost everything except for the clothes on their backs after they watched their home engulf in flames on December 29, 2021.

Carla Kokokopenace the daughter of Clara and sister to JJ spoke on the emotion the family is feeling after the tragedy.

“We were in disbelief the first couple of days. There were other things that were happening in the community that had a big impact on us,” said Kokokopenace.

There are more than 250 people in the hospital due to COVID-19 with most of those people having active cases.

There are 1,757 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases to 87,263. The majority of the new cases are from Winnipeg.

There are 17,076 active cases and 68,787 recoveries. The number of active cases is likely lower due to call backlogs.

New cases by region include:

• 1,350 in Winnipeg
• 152 in Interlake-Eastern
• 122 in Southern
• 73 in Prairie Mountain
• 60 in Northern

The Lake of the Woods Speedway has had to postpone registration for one of their winter races due to the latest COVID-19 restrictions laid out by the province. 

The speedway took to social media on Tuesday to announce registration for their 5th Annual Stay in Kenora 100 and Vintage Twin Cylinder Shootout has been postponed until January 24, 2022, at 7 p.m.

The Northwestern Health Unit is reporting 42 new COVID-19 cases have been found in the region. 

Fifteen cases were found in the Kenora Health Hub, 25 in the Sioux Lookout Health Hub, and one each in the Rainy River and Dryden Health Hubs. 

Follow up with the persons involved and their contacts has started according to protocol.

The newly discovered cases pushed the active case count connected to the NWHU catchment area to 418. 

There are currently four people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the region. 

Residents across Ontario will need their QR code and their enhanced vaccine certificate to enter a variety of settings as of today.

On December 10, Health Minister and Deputy Premier Christine Elliott announced that Ontario will require the use of the QR code and the Verify Ontario app in settings where proof of vaccination is required as of January 4, as well as a piece of identification.

Businesses must accept either a digital or paper copy of the QR code. Ontario says vaccine receipts without a QR code will no longer be accepted.

For almost two years Canadians have heard the words COVID-19, pandemic, and coronavirus excessively as this virus has wreaked havoc across the world.

The virus is showing no signs of slowing down as COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the country and with the introduction of the new Omicron variant people have been on edge.

Northwestern Ontario hasn’t been hit as hard with the virus, in terms of high COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, or deaths as other areas of Ontario but still had its challenges and obstacles to overcome in 2021.