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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
Tick season is well underway in the province and that means it's time to be a bit more cautious when heading out to enjoy the beautiful weather.
Ticks are most commonly seen in tall grass or brush. They need blood to survive which is why they latch onto human skin and animals as well. Dr. Khodevesi, Medical Officer of Health with Prairie Mountain Health says one way to avoid getting ticks on your skin is to wear long sleeves and pants.
"Another way to try and avoid the tick is to stay away from tall grass and brush," said Khodevesi. "If you're going for a hike, it's always best to stay in the middle of the trail."
If you find a tick on yourself, you should remove it immediately using tweezers. During the summer months, it's also very important to do daily tick checks on your animal as they can nestle into the fur.
The black-legged tick and deer tick can carry Lyme disease. However, this doesn't mean that every black-legged tick or deer tick carries the disease, they must have been infected.
The risk of contracting Lyme disease from a tick is very rare in Canada, with fewer than 1000 cases per year. Symptoms of Lyme disease include a bullseye at the infection spot, a rash, fever, and fatigue.
Ticks must be latched onto the skin for a minimum of 24 hours to spread Lyme disease if they're infected.
"That's why it's extremely important to do frequent checks, the sooner you can get a tick off the better," said Khodevesi.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Premier Brian Pallister has released a statement on the discovery of a mass grave at a former Kamloops residential school.
Pallister says he was deeply saddened to learn of this "horrifying discovery."
“This discovery reminds us all of the tragedy of the residential school system.”
He says that the flags have been lowered at the Manitoba Legislative Building and Memorial Park.
The Legislative Building will also be lit in orange to honour the 215 children whose lives were lost, and everyone else affected by residential schools.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
Pine Creek First Nation is implementing a community-wide lockdown after a surge of COVID-19 cases.
The community reported 31 active cases on Friday, 16 of them have been identified as the B.1.1.7. variant of concern.
A community notice says safety officers will be enforcing provincial public health orders, and will closely monitor indoor and outdoor gatherings.
Check-points will be placed at each road entering the community. Anyone that must leave the community for a medical appointment will need a confirmation slip before they're allowed past the checkstops.
Community members will still be able to go shopping and pick up mail. It's reported that Pine Creek's gas bar is limiting its hours and will only serve one resident at a time from a side window.
The lockdown will remain in effect until June 7th.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
Public health officials announced 357 new cases of COVID-19 and three more deaths in Manitoba.
The most recent deaths in the province include:
a male in his 20s from the Winnipeg Health region
a male in his 20s from the Winnipeg Health region, linked to the B.1.1.7 variant of concern
a male in his 70s from the Prairie Mountain Health region, linked to the B.1.1.7 variant of concern.
The total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba is 50,499.
There are 44,819 Manitobans who have recovered from COVID-19.
The total number of deaths in people with COVID-19 is 1,045.
Due to technical issues, limited data is available for the COVID-19 bulletin, but information will be updated online as soon as possible.
According to the province’s data, these are the numbers of active cases in the following Parkland health districts: Dauphin (29), Riding Mountain (28), Swan River (3), Duck Mountain (4), Porcupine Mountain (54), Agassiz Mountain (50), Asessippi (16), Little Saskatchewan (4), Whitemud (12). Brandon has 49 active cases.
In the Interlake, the Eriksdale/Ashern health district has 49 active cases of COVID-19. The Fisher/Peguis health district has seven active cases.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
The federal government has passed legislation to create a national holiday to recognize victims and survivors of Indigenous residential schools.
MPs agreed to pass Bill C-5 on Friday and send it on to the Senate.
The new statutory holiday, called the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, will be observed on September 30th.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
More COVID-19 vaccination clinics are coming to the Parkland.
Dauphin’s supersite – located at the Ukrainian Orthodox Hall – is taking appointments for the Pfizer vaccine on June 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 13th,14th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, and 27th.
Moderna vaccines are being administered at the site on June 15th,16th, 23rd, 28th, 29th, and 30th.
In Swan River, the clinic at the Veterans Hall will administer Pfizer doses on June 3rd and 28th, and Moderna doses on June 17th, 22nd, 28th, and 29th.
All sites in Prairie Mountain Health are operating from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
First Dose Eligibility:
All Manitobans aged 12 and up are eligible for their first dose of an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna). Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are currently available at supersites and pop-up clinics only.
All Manitobans aged 40 and older are eligible to receive a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, along with Manitobans aged 30-39 with certain health conditions. AstraZeneca doses are only available at pharmacies and medical clinics in the province.
Second Dose Eligibility:
People who received their first dose of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine on or before April 3 can now book their second-dose appointment.
All Indigenous people aged 12 and up can begin booking second dose appointments as long as they meet the minimum time interval between doses.
Manitobans with certain priority conditions can receive a second dose.
To book COVID-19 vaccine appointments, you can call 1-844-626-8222, or click here to book online.
Manitoba's Vaccine Timeline
Johanu Botha, operations, planning and logistics lead for Manitoba’s Vaccine Task Force, provided an update on the province’s vaccination timeline Friday morning.
“The federal government projected to deliver over 75,000 Moderna doses over the week of May 24th and May 31st, which as of this morning we now know for sure will not materialize.”
Botha said Manitoba will be getting 14,600 Moderna doses the week of May 31st and 3,500 the following week.
The province now expects 70 percent of Manitobans aged 12 and older will have their first dose no later than June 30th, which was previously predicted to be June 9th.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
An intensive care patient from Manitoba who died after an attempted medical transfer to Ontario has been identified as 31-year-old Krystal Mousseau.
The Southern Chiefs' Organization says she is a mother of two from the Ebb and Flow First Nation.
The organization says she was in hospital in Brandon when she died.
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Arlen Dumas says his organization is frustrated with the provincial government for not implementing proper health orders to stop the third wave of COVID-19.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Riding Mountain National Park is one of beautiful destinations in the province. Whether you're heading there for some ice cream, to head for a hike, or to camp, there is something for everyone.
And while in the park, there is a good chance you'll see wildlife. Bear sightings have been very frequent as of late which means cars are stopping on the side of the road to get a better look. While this is allowed, feeding the animals is not. If you are caught, you could face a $25,000 penalty as feeding wildlife is illegal at all Parks Canada parks.
Tim Sallows, a resource management officer with Parks Canada says the bears have plenty of natural resources for food, they don't need human food.
"Bears will get comfortable with vehicles if they're fed by humans," said Sallows. "So what they will do is run out to the road to meet vehicles and that has led to bears being hit in the past. Go ahead and look at the bears, but don't feed them."
It's also recommended that you always stay in your vehicle while taking pictures and if a bear is near, keep your hands inside the vehicle. With winding turns throughout the park, driving the speed limit is very important and park officials are always on the lookout for drivers going faster than the limit.
By driving faster than the limit, a driver is minimizing the chance of stopping in time as bears, moose, elk, and deer frequent the trails, especially at night time.
"The speed limit is 80 kilometres-per-hour so it's important that everyone obeys that," offered Sallows. "You also need to pay attention because wildlife can jump out quickly."
If you're camping and you spot a bear on a trail or near your campsite, you should always act big. This has been proven to make a bear head the other way. But if they don't, you should back up slowly.
"Don't turn your back on the bear, that's important," ended Sallows.
You must also always have your dog on a leash, at all times.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Mountain View School Division is advising of a positive case of COVID-19 at Gilbert Plains Collegiate.
Gilbert Plains Collegiate will be closed Friday, May 28th while the division waits for a Public Health investigation.
Manitoba Public Health officials advised Gilbert Plains Collegiate of at least one confirmed case of COVID-19 in the school in Grade 10 Classroom on May 20th and 21st when the individual(s) may have been infectious.
School administration says that they’re working closely with Public Health officials, and following their recommendations.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
The Manitoba government announced $58-million dollars in funding for the 2021-22 school year, to ensure pandemic protection and resources to support mental health and well-being for students and staff.
Investments for the next school year will include:
- $40 million for the per-pupil allocation to school divisions and independent schools for additional staffing, learning and technology, and health and safety
- $6 million for potential costs for PPE
- $5 million for the Kindergarten to Grade 8 Remote Learning Support Centre for students who are medically compromised
- $7 million in contingency including a $5-million recovery learning fund
The recovery learning contingency fund will be used to address the impacts of the pandemic on student learning. It will support several streams including:
- mental health and wellness
- literacy and numeracy
- planning and assessment
- student engagement
- professional learning
Manitoba’s education minister, Cliff Cullen, says for the current school year, the province is projected to invest up to $170 million by the end of June including $85 million in federal contributions.
It is anticipated there will be some level of public health measures for fall 2021 and the types of measures in the fall will be dependent upon vaccination rollout.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
