COVID-19

Dr. Deena Hinshaw provided and live update yesterday, just ahead of the holidays.

Due to the rapidly rising cases due to Omicron, the testing process will be changed to decrease the pressure on laboratories. She said, “With cases growing exponentially, we must also begin to conserve capacity.”

AHS is asking anyone with an appointment for a PCR test after testing positive with a rapid test to cancel the appointment in order to relieve the stress and free space for high-risk residents. 

Soup kitchens are warming up their stoves so they can warm hearts this Christmas.

Siloam Mission's Communication Manager, Luke Thiessen, was holding out hope for a near-normal Christmas meal, but rising case counts, including a small outbreak at Siloam, put a kink in that plan. He is, however, thankful they can give their visitors a warm meal.

"We can't cook such a big, complicated meal every day or every week but we can do it a few times a year."

Running for 48 hours may not be how many, if any, Winnipeggers will be spending the days after Christmas, but for one man it's an old hat.

The snow covering a well-worn loop around The Forks will be packed down by a single pair of running shoes on Sunday and Monday. This is the seventh year Junel Malapad is running, but this year it comes with a twist.

"I am making running day another day longer; for 48 hours," Malapad says.

He is hoping to run 200 kilometres in those 48 hours. In some previous years, he has run for 56 hours, making 48 hours a more relaxed goal.

The City of Kenora is revamping the area behind the Kenora Rec Centre to create more space for parking, and boats, as well as beautify the space in the process.

Stace Gander, Director of Community Services, said the city is excited for this project to get off the ground.

“We’re going to be adding an additional 140 parking spots at the rec centre. We’re going to be connecting two trail systems so there is going to be a nice meandering trail that’s going to go alongside the creek,” said Gander.

Next week, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Chief Medical Officer of Health will be giving an overall update on the Omicron variant and general numbers for cases and the tests that are completed on December 28 and December 30.

On December 29 there will be a breakdown of case numbers from December 24th to December 28.

Then on January 4, there will be a detailed breakdown of cases.

Over the last 24 hours, there have been 1, 625 new cases of COVID-19 in the province.

The positivity rate is 13.6 per cent and there were no deaths reported in the last 24 hours.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw provided and live update today, just ahead of the holidays.

Due to the rapidly rising cases due to Omicron, the testing process will be changed to decrease the pressure on laboratories. She said, “ With cases growing exponentially, we must also begin to conserve capacity.”

AHS is asking anyone with an appointment for a PCR test after testing positive with a rapid test to cancel the appointment in order to relieve the stress and free space for high-risk residents. 

Public Health believes there are many more new COVID-19 cases in Manitoba, citing a large backlog in tests as the cause for the underreporting.

The province is asking only symptomatic people get tested for COVID-19, citing the massive backlog of tests.

"The province has reached its capacity to process COVID-19 specimens at facilities in Manitoba," the province says in a statement. "The province is exploring options to expand laboratory capacity to help alleviate the backlog."

Manitoba Public Health is reporting a high demand at COVID-19 collection sites in Winnipeg, and across the province, resulting in increased wait times for tests as well as test results.

The province has reached its capacity to process COVID-19 specimens at facilities in Manitoba. The current backlog is estimated to be over 7,500 specimens. The province is exploring options to expand laboratory capacity to help alleviate the backlog.

A Christian university is the first in Winnipeg to mandate students, staff, and faculty to receive three COVID-19 vaccines and be tested regularly.

Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) says in a news release that all adults must get a third COVID-19 vaccine for the winter term.

A current surge in demand for third doses is creating scarce appointment availability across Winnipeg, but the school will be hosting a pop-up vaccine clinic for their students.

Manitoba's COVID-19 test rate is well above 10 per cent as it jumps one per cent in one day.

There are 556 new COVID-19 cases as of Thursday morning, bringing the total number of cases to 72,834.

New cases include 440 people who are fully vaccinated, 84 people who are not vaccinated, and 32 people who are partially vaccinated.

Cases by health region include: