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By Saturday's deadline of 2 pm, tickets for the Russell Take A Year Off Lottery were sold out and Ervin Allen of Swan River won the $52,000 grand prize. Allen will receive the prize in the form of $1000 a week for an entire year. Andrew Dobson of Onanole took home $26,450 in another solid MEGA 50/50 draw.
 
Other prize winners are below:
 
- Karen & Rick Goraluk of Inglis won $5000.
- Lynn Cupples of Brandon won $3000.
- Wayne & Donna Bulischak of Russell won $2000.
- Birgit Lavallee and Pauline & Terry Glasman of Russell each won $1000.
- Martha Beuckert of Morden and Leonard Kreutzer of Plumas each won $500.
 
Thank you to everyone who bought a ticket and congratulations to the organizers for another successful lottery.

Provincial health officials announced 239 new cases of COVID-19, as well as the highest single-day increase in deaths.

Fifteen more deaths due to COVID-19 have been reported, which the province says range from Nov. 2 to 13.

Eleven are residents from the Maples Long Term Care Home in Winnipeg, the site of the largest outbreak in a Manitoba care home. The other four deaths announced Saturday include a man in his 80s from the Winnipeg health region linked to the outbreak at St. Boniface hospital, and three men from the Southern Health region all at least 70 years of age.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 12.4 per cent provincially and 13.1 per cent in Winnipeg

This brings the total of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba to 10,453.

Today’s data shows:
• 11 cases in the Interlake–Eastern health region;
• 16 cases in the Northern health region;
• nine cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region;
• 40 cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region; and
• 163 cases in the Winnipeg health region.

There are 6,410 active cases and 3,891 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19. Prairie Mountain Health has 165 active cases.

There are 228 people in hospital with 34 people in intensive care; and the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 152.


A Closer Look At The Parkland

The latest possible exposures in the Prairie Mountain Health region include:

PMH exposure

The following Parkland health districts have active cases: Dauphin (2), Riding Mountain (4), Swan River (10, down from 11), Porcupine Mountain (4), Duck Mountain (2), Little Saskatchewan (9), Asessippi (8), Agassiz Mountain (1), and Whitemud (18). Brandon has 59 active cases.

In the Interlake, the Eriksdale/Ashern health district has 76 active cases. The Fisher/Peguis health district has 154 cases, down from 165.

The chief provincial public health officer urges Manitobans to not socialize with people from outside their household, to significantly reduce the number of close contacts and avoid closed-in or crowded spaces. In addition, they should focus on these fundamentals to help stop the spread of COVID-19: 

• Stay home if you are sick, or when any member of your family is sick.
• Physically distance when you are with people outside your household.
• If you cannot physically distance, wear a mask to help reduce the risk to others or as required by public health orders.

Public health officials are also advising that anyone who is symptomatic, or has a household member who is symptomatic, the entire household needs to self-isolate pending COVID-19 test results. 

The symptomatic individual needs to stay in their own room and, if possible, use their own bathroom and not use common areas. Exemptions are in place for asymptomatic household members if they are an essential worker required to wear PPE while at work such as health-care workers, first responders or teachers and educational assistants.

Conservation officers in Manitoba are continuing enforcement against illegal night hunting and illegal hunting in moose conservation closure areas.

On Wednesday, November 11, two men were charged in the Minto area in relation to illegally killing a bull moose.

An investigation determined the moose was shot off a municipal road on private land. 

Both men were issued a restitution notice for $2,500 for the moose. 

A rifle was seized, and the moose was dropped off at Killarney Meats who will process the moose meat-free of charge so it can be donated to local food banks.


Conservation Officers On Patrol

Since Oct. 10, conservation officers have conducted patrols to enforce Manitoba’s new Wildlife Amendment Act (Safe Hunting and Shared Management), resulting in:

• charges or appearance notices to 20 individuals for serious wildlife offences;
• warnings to 17 individuals for night hunting without a permit or for hunting in a moose conservation closure area;
• charges to six individuals for possessing illegally taken wildlife;
• seizures of six vehicles;
• seizures of seven firearms, and;
• restitution orders totalling $14,000.

Night hunting is now illegal in Manitoba on all private land. 

In northern Manitoba, Indigenous hunters may hunt at night on Crown land and do not need to apply for a permit, though it is subject to a three-kilometre safety buffer around occupied sites and provincial roadways.

In southern Manitoba, night hunting is prohibited except with a permit that allows rights-based hunting on Crown land, subject to terms and conditions establishing where it can be done safely.

Manitoba is currently facing outbreaks at several hospitals and in many long-term care homes.

The situation is most dire in Winnipeg — as of November 12, Winnipeg’s Parkview Place has had 153 cases of COVID-19 and 23 deaths, while the Maples Personal Care Home has had 197 cases and 22 deaths.

On Friday afternoon, Manitoba's Health Minister Cameron Friesen announced an expert advisor will conduct a review of the situation at Maples Care Home.

Last weekend, Friesen declared the province would launch an investigation into Maples Care Home, following a concerning shocking situation in which eight residents died there in a 48 hour span, as paramedics had to be called in to assist care home staff.

In Friday's update on COVID-19, health officials announced an outbreak at the Gilbert Plains Personal Care Home — elevating it to critical red on the Pandemic Response System — but provided few other details.

The province says an outbreak at the Swan Valley Health Centre and attached Swan Valley Personal Care home announced on October 25 has resulted in five staff infections and four “non-staff” infections.

The province’s latest figures provided on November 12 regarding the Grandview Personal Care Home outbreak shows one confirmed case of a staff member.

There are now 2 active cases in the Dauphin health district, as public health officials announced 437 new cases and five more deaths due to COVID-19 Friday.

Health officials are also reporting an outbreak at the Gilbert Plains Personal Care Home. The site has been moved to critical (red) on the Pandemic Response Level.

Today’s data shows:

  • 33 cases in the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority;
  • 28 cases in the Northern health region;
  • 20 cases in Prairie Mountain Health;
  • 96 cases in Southern Health-Santé Sud; and
  • 260 cases in the Winnipeg health region.

Of Manitoba’s 10,216 total cases, 6,307 are considered active and 3,772 are recovered. There are 231 people in hospital with 34 in intensive care.

The provinces most recent deaths due to COVID-19 include:

  • a female in her 40s from the Northern health region;
  • a female in her 60s from the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority;
  • a male in his 60s from the Winnipeg health region;
  • a female in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region and linked to the outbreak at Maples Long Term Care Home; and
  • a male in his 80s from the Winnipeg health region.  

There have been a total of 137 deaths due to COVID-19 in Manitoba.

The following Parkland health districts have active cases: Dauphin (2), Riding Mountain (3), Swan River (11), Porcupine Mountain (4), Duck Mountain (1), Little Saskatchewan (9), Asessippi (8), Agassiz Mountain (2), and Whitemud (17). Brandon has 56 active cases.

In the Interlake, the Eriksdale/Ashern health district has 76 active cases. The Fisher/Peguis health district has 165 cases.

For more information about COVID-19 in Manitoba, click here.

A new business offering a range of services has opened up in Dauphin.

Located at 17 3rd Ave. NE, Parkland Collaborative Legal Options (PCLO) has been open since early September.

Desiree Dorion, a partner at PCLO, says they offer mediation, arbitration, collaborative family practice, and parenting plans.

“We also do child protection defence and what would be called limited scope work, so that would be, like, if people need assistance drafting, we won’t go to court for them, but we will assist them with drafting if they need help drafting documents for contested litigation. So that’s in a nutshell, what we do.”

Mediation is an assisted negotiation by a neutral third party to help disputing parties voluntarily reach their own mutually acceptable settlements.

Arbitration is a process that allows each party to provide their own evidence and an arbitrator renders a decision after hearing the evidence. Under the Arbitration Act of Manitoba, arbitrators are empowered to make the decisions and they are legally binding.

A parenting plan is a required document in contested litigation. Dorion says people sometimes need help facilitating a parenting plan that works for their family. A parenting plan is a written document that outlines how both parents will raise their children after separation or divorce.

Dorion says they primarily focus on those going through separation or divorce.

“What we would do is we would have a meeting with that client and just find out more information from them and whether their case would be suited more to collaborative law, whether their case would be suited for mediation, maybe they just need a parenting plan, if there are no other issues that need to be resolved, that might be a case that would be suited to meet with our parenting plan facilitator. We assess it by a case-by-case basis and in consultation with our clients, would figure out what option is best suited for them.”

Dorion did arbitration training and her partner, Melanie Beaudry did the mediation training, both through the ADR Institution of Canada. Kate Roberts is the parenting plan facilitator.

The phone number for PCLO is (204) 701-7256, they also have a website, and Dorion says they’re on Facebook and Instagram as well.

“We’re just looking forward to serving the Parkland. We’ve had some good discussions with folks in the community and people who are curious about what we’re doing. Maybe you don’t want to proceed with anything at this time, but you might be interested in learning more, and so, if that’s the case, feel free to give us a call, we’re happy to talk to anybody about the services we’re providing.”

With the entire province moved to code red, Prairie Mountain Health officials are providing an update on their visitation guidelines at hospitals and personal care homes.

Hospitals
At hospitals, one designated visitor is permitted in the following areas after screening at the entrance:

  • Maternity Ward/ Neonatal ICU; 
  • Pediatric Ward (one parent only); 
  • Patient stay exceeds 14 days; 
  • Emergency Department (where the safety of the patient relies on their accompanying person (i.e. medical history of communications); and 
  • Compassionate reasons or end of life will be made on a case-by-case basis. 

Personal Care Homes
Only one designated visitor at a time can visit at personal care homes. PMH advises the public to contact their local personal care home for visiting hours.

No general visitation is permitted at this time, but exceptions for compassionate reasons or end of life will be made on a case-by-case basis.

PMH reminds the public to bring and wear a mask when entering their facilities, as staff will continue to adhere to vigilant screening at site entrances.

For more information on visitation restrictions and guidelines visit the PMH website here.

During his press conference on Thursday, Dr. Brent Roussin said the message from public health on social gatherings is clear: stay home and socialize only with members of your household.

While that message is not necessarily one of the measures that’s enforceable by a fine, Roussin says Manitobans don’t need a law to do what is right.

“Right now we’re going to get back on track in all the regions in Manitoba. We’re going to stay home. We’re going to socialize only with our household members — and we’re going to see our numbers start to come back to more manageable rates.”

Manitobans can still legally gather in groups of five, as the cap on gatherings is unchanged in light of the province-wide red restrictions that went into effect Thursday.

“Gatherings of more than five people from outside a single household will be subject to fines,” Roussin said on Thursday.

Dr. Roussin stresses the importance of following guidelines and bringing case numbers down -- saying that Manitoba hospitals are facing a critical situation as they reach near capacity.

“We have to change the trajectory of this virus right now. That means staying home and socializing only with members of your household.”

November is Falls Prevention month and Prairie Mountain Health is reminding Manitoban’s to take extra caution when outside this winter.

Co-Lead of Regional Falls Prevention Committee for Prairie Mountain Health, Nancy Tregunna, explains the important steps to stay safe this winter.

“Falls prevention month’s theme is ‘Be Ready, Be Steady,’ so we are really focussing on safe winter walking. It’s really important to kind of plan your trip before you go outside – dress in layers so that you’re warm, wear bring reflective gear, make sure your footwear is well insulated and has a good tread.”

She adds that 1 in every 4 people over the age of 65 have at least one fall a year, and that falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospitalizations and death in Manitoba.

 “If you do find yourself walking on ice make sure you’re moving slowly, thinking about your next step,  being very careful, leave your knees loose, shorten your strides, and shuffle your feet. Walking like a penguin is a good way to make sure you don’t fall on the ice.”

For more information about Falls Prevention Month, click here.

A 41-year-old man is dead after a 2 vehicle collision in the RM of Portage la Prairie yesterday afternoon.

Around 1:10 p.m. RCMP responded to the collision at the intersection of Provincial Road 240 and Municipal Road 60N.

The investigation determined an eastbound vehicle on Municipal Road 60N with four occupants was struck by a southbound vehicle as it entered the intersection.

The 41-year-old male driver of the eastbound vehicle was pronounced deceased on scene. His three passengers, a 41-year-old woman and two boys, 2 and 3 years old, were transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The 23-year-old female driver of the southbound vehicle was transported to a hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The investigation continues.

The province is announcing 474 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, and the deaths of 9 more Manitobans.

All but one of the deaths announced Thursday are individuals from Winnipeg. Four are linked to the Maples Long Term Care Home.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 11 per cent provincially and 11.4 per cent in Winnipeg.

The total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba is now 9,782.

The number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 132.

Today’s data shows:
·    26 cases in the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority;
·    20 cases in the Northern health region;
·    19 cases in Prairie Mountain Health;
·    94 cases in Southern Health-Santé Sud; and
·    315 cases in the Winnipeg health region.

There are 6,030 active cases and 3,620 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19.

There are 227 people in hospital with 34 people in intensive care.

The following Parkland health districts have active cases: Swan River (12), Porcupine Mountain (3), Duck Mountain (1), Asessippi (7), Riding Mountain (1), Little Saskatchewan (9), Agassiz Mountain (1), and Whitemud (16). Dauphin has 0 active cases. There are 54 active cases in Brandon, according to the province’s dashboard.

In the Interlake-Eastern region, there are 78 active cases in the Eriksdale/Ashern health district. The Fisher/Peguis health district has 177 active cases.

Effective today, the entire province of Manitoba moved to the Critical level (red) on the Pandemic Response System. Click here to learn more about restrictions and the measures in place.