COVID-19

As of Friday, December 3, there were 4 cases reported of the omicron variant Dr. Deena Hinshaw announced this morning those numbers have increased over the weekend. 

Hinshaw confirmed this morning that the new cases were are all from returning travellers as she took to Twitter this morning to speak about the new cases. 

"We have confirmed eight new cases of the variant, bringing our total to twelve," explains Hinshaw. "Eleven cases in Alberta have been identified in returning travellers and one is a household contact."

Seven new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the Northwestern Health Unit's catchment area since Friday.

One new case is in the Dryden/Red Lake Region and six are in the Sioux Lookout region. This brings the active case count to 18 in the region.

Provincewide, 887 new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Monday.

Follow up with the persons involved and their contacts have started according to protocol. Anyone who is identified as a contact for these cases will be contacted directly.

No cases of the B.1.1.529 (omicron) variant have been detected in Manitoba at this time and the province can confirm that all positive travel-related specimens are being sequenced.

The province continues to monitor the situation and work with federal officials in the fight against COVID-19 and its variants. Federal travel restrictions can be found at https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid.

Manitoba's five-day COVID-19 rate has jumped since Friday.

As of Monday, there have been 539 new COVID-19 cases since Saturday. New cases include  191 cases on Saturday, 211 cases on Sunday, and 137 cases on Monday.

Manitoba's five-day test rate is 6.3 per cent, up by 1.2 percentage point since Friday, Manitoba's highest rate in weeks. Winnipeg's test rate has jumped to 4.1 per cent from Friday's 2.7 per cent.

There continue to be no identified cases of the B.1.1.529 (omicron) variant in Manitoba.

The province has identified eight more cases of the Omicron variant since Friday, December 3.

This morning Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw took to Twitter to report the new cases which she confirmed are all from returning travellers.

"We have confirmed eight new cases of the variant, bringing our total to twelve," explains Hinshaw. "Eleven cases in Alberta have been identified in returning travellers and one is a household contact."

Dr. Hinshaw added that the individuals are experiencing only mild symptoms and are currently isolating.

A man from Mitchell, Man. is recovering at home in his battle from COVID-19, only a few weeks after his family said their goodbyes to him in hospital.

On October 21st, Vern Neufeld tested positive for COVID-19. Vern had been feeling sick for a couple of days prior to receiving the results, but his wife Christina says it was on the 21st when she began to notice some very troubling symptoms.

"He was already very confused, he wasn't making sense and so his oxygen levels must have been really low," she recalls. "That got me really scared of course, so I called 911."

The Thunder Bay District Health Unit (TBDHU) has reported the region's first cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

Four cases of the variant have been confirmed, and health officials "anticipated that an additional four individuals will be confirmed as having omicron in the coming days."

The TBDHU says these cases have a direct link to South Africa, where the variant was first identified.

All individuals are in the same household and all have been isolating.

The provincial government reported 68 new cases of COVID-19 across Saskatchewan Saturday. Along with 90 recoveries, this brought the number of active cases in Saskatchewan down to 722.  

The number of hospitalizations decreased by six, to 130. Of those, 33 were in intensive care, down by one from Friday’s update. There are also four people in acute care in Ontario. 

With the holiday season quickly approaching, the North Western Health Unit (NWHU) is urging the public to be mindful of safe COVID-19 practices when gathering with friends and family this year.  

During a weekly digital discussion session, Medical Officer of Health, Kit Young Hoon, offered advice for those celebrating the holiday season.  

No cases of the B.1.1.529 (omicron) variant have been detected in Manitoba at this time and the province can confirm that all positive travel-related specimens are being sequenced.

The province continues to monitor the situation and work with federal officials in the fight against COVID-19 and its variants. Federal travel restrictions can be found at https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid.