COVID-19

Cases in the region are once again on the rise.

For the local area, here are the current number of active cases and total COVID-19 related deaths as of Thursday (Dec.23):               

Strathcona County won't be having as big of a New Year's Eve celebration as originally planned.

Initially, the county was going to host a variety of outdoor activities, games, dancers, snacks and a fireworks show on Dec.31. 

While the fireworks display will still go off at 8 p.m., all other interactive activities have been cancelled.

After a flurry of expiration concerns over the marked dates on KN95 mask boxes, the province says the masks they are giving out are safe to use.

On Wednesday afternoon, Manitoba's Minister of Central Services Reg Helwer announced on Twitter that the province will be giving out free KN95 masks at Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries liquor marts and casinos in the coming days.

Residents across the province are gearing up to welcome friends, and family into their homes over the Christmas holiday.

Due to recently announced safety measures by the provincial government last week, households are only allowed up to a maximum of 10 people in their homes as of Sunday.

In a media briefing on Tuesday, Dr. Kit Young Hoon, Medical Officer of Health for the Northwestern Health Unit responded to a question about residents disregarding safety measures over the holidays.

In the past 24 hours, Alberta has recorded 1,346 new cases of COVID-19 with numbers being driven by the Omicron variant.

The province's positivity rate is at about 11 per cent. 

Hospitalizations dropped by three to 326 and ICU admissions dropped by four to 65. 

Sadly, another five deaths were reported for a total of 3,299. 

Cochrane added 11 for a total of 70 active cases and Rocky View County added 18 for a total of 105 active cases. 

Yesterday, extra measures were announced to curb the spread of the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.

Manitoba's deputy chief public officer says a new therapy is not a replacement for the COVID-19 vaccine but could help unvaccinated Manitobans who contract COVID-19 stay out of the hospital.

An outpatient monoclonal antibody treatment will be offered to people who contract COVID-19 and are not vaccinated if the virus is caught early enough.

"While not a substitute for vaccination monoclonal antibody treatment can help reduce the risk of hospitalization from COVID-19," Dr. Jazz Atwal says in a Wednesday press conference.

With the recent increase of COVID-19 cases in the region, the announcement of the city-wide state of emergency and the discovery of the Omicron variant within the communities, Lake of the Woods District Hospital (LWDH) has once again reinstated their full visitor restrictions.  

LWDH announced that effective December 22, 2021, full visitor restrictions are in place. 

The already-bustling liquor marts in Manitoba will get even busier this holiday season.

Manitoba's Minister of Central Services, Reg Hewler, tweeted on Wednesday afternoon about a new partnership with Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries (MBLL). He says starting as soon as this week KN95 masks will be handed out.

Many in-home visits and inspections are on pause for the foreseeable future, including water meter readings.

Homeowners and people responsible for commercial properties will be getting calls from the City of Winnipeg over the next couple of days to reschedule inspections or find an alternative option.

"Due to the rising number of positive COVID-19 cases in the community, the City of Winnipeg is suspending in-home, non-emergency inspections, effective today, until further notice," the City says in a statement.

Changes include:

On the days when most Manitobans do not have to work, the province is closing its COVID-19 vaccine supersites.

People wanting to get a COVID-19 vaccine on December 25 and 26, and January 1, will need to go somewhere else because the province's supersites will be closed.