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In a press conference this afternoon at 1:30 pm, the Government of Manitoba announced that they have established a task force with the current diagnostic and surgical backlogs as their top priority.
The Diagnostic and Surgical Recovery Task Force will address the current wait-lists and all related services that have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The work the task force will be doing will include identifying the priority needs of all patients and implementing local and out-of-province services in order to offer the safest and most timely healthcare solutions.
The task force will include highly respected local healthcare professionals who will be working with experts from across Canada. The work has already begun to identify and implement short and long-term solutions to deal with all the backlogs.
Some of the solutions will include:
- Creating a centralized information management system for healthcare providers that will include surgical and diagnostic waitlist information to streamline when and where surgeries and tests can be done;
- Ensuring healthcare professionals are working to the full scope of their practice;
- Providing monthly updates to ensure Manitobans receive timely, consistent, and transparent information;
- Negotiating agreements with specialized healthcare providers both inside and outside of the province who can increase the number of surgeries and services performed
- Finding patients who are ready for their procedures and can travel to other jurisdictions where it could be performed sooner.
A report can be expected in the new year that will set out an analysis of the situation, a summary of the progress so far, and how success will be measured in the near future.
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- Contributed by Eric Fawx
On December 7, 2021, at approximately 4:50 pm, Ste. Rose du Lac RCMP responded to a structure fire at an abandoned church in the community of Cayer.
RCMP along with the Eddystone Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services attended and the church was fully engulfed with flames. It’s believed that no one was inside at the time of the fire.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. The Office of the Fire Commissioner has been notified.
If anyone has information on this incident please call Ste. Rose du Lac RCMP at 204-447-3082, or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477, or secure tip online at Crime Stoppers Manitoba
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- Contributed by Eric Fawx
This morning at 10 the Province’s Public Health officials gave an update on Covid-19 in Manitoba including the current vaccine rollout numbers across all age groups.
Dr. Jazz Atwal, Deputy Chief Provincial Public Health Officer, Dr. Joss Reimer, Medical Lead of the province's vaccine implementation task force, and Monika Warren, provincial COVID-19 Operations Chief for Shared Health all spoke at the press conference.
When it comes to the vaccine rollout in Manitoba the numbers are as follows:
Adults 18+ sit at 89.1% first dose and 86.1% fully vaccinated (two doses)
Youth aged 12-17 sit at 88.6% first dose and 86.1% fully vaccinated (two doses)
Children 5-11 are at 32,500 doses received and a total of 2,780 appointments are today to add to that number.
Dr. Jazz Atwal spoke on the first case of the Omicron variant in Manitoba and mentioned that the individual travelled from one of ten African countries and experienced mild symptoms but said no further details of the individual or further cases of Omicron cases will be provided.
Dr. Atwal went on to say there are no further plans to change the current public health measures in the province as of now.
We will update this story as more information comes in.
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- Contributed by Eric Fawx
The Dauphin Fire Department responded to a call that a carbon monoxide alarm was going off just before 10:30 this morning. The owner had safely exited the home prior to the fire department arriving.
Using the department gas detectors they were able to find high levels of carbon monoxide in the house and requested the assistance of the Manitoba Hydro-Gas Division.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
An update on COVID-19 in the province is on the way Wednesday morning from Manitoba public health officials.
The conference will be at 10:00 a.m. and we will cover it.
Dr. Jazz Atwal, deputy chief provincial public health officer, Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead of the province's vaccine implementation task force, and Monika Warren, provincial COVID-19 operations chief for Shared Health, are to speak
93 new cases were announced on Tuesday. On Sunday, there were 211 new cases, Manitoba's highest daily case count in nearly six months. Back on June 12, 294 cases were reported. Over the past few days, doctors have said the province is running out of resources to treat critically ill patients, mainly due to staffing issues.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
If you're planning on heading to Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo anytime soon, you'll need to be double vaccinated.
Starting on Monday, December 13, visitors 12-year-old and older will need proof of full vaccination to get in the doors.
The rules are being put in place after animals in the United States are acquiring COVID and some have died. Zoo staff and volunteers are also required to be fully vaccinated.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
The latest estimate from Doctors Manitoba says the number of surgical and diagnostic backlogs has reached an all-time high.
As of Wednesday, it's estimated that the backlog has surpassed 152,000 cases. The total number will be updated every month. In their latest update, there was an increase of 6,675 cases for a total backlog of 152,116 cases.
The backlog is made up of:
- 56,181 surgeries (an increase of 2,376 since last month).
- 42,931 diagnostic imaging procedures, such as MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds (up 3,230 tests since last month).
- 53,004 other diagnostic procedures, including allergy tests, endoscopies, mammograms and sleep disorder studies (an increase of 1,069 cases).
"This is a new high and frankly, it's very concerning," said Dr. Kristjan Thompson, president of Doctors Manitoba and an emergency medicine physician at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg.
Of particular concern is the cancellation of cardiac surgeries because of the growing pressure on intensive care units due to COVID-19 patients, he said.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
The RCMP in Portage La Prairie have charged a 30-year-old man after he was caught on the roof of a bank in the 100 block of Saskatchewan Avenue East in Portage today around 3:00 am.
The suspect was spotted by the Mounties inside the bank and then on the roof of an adjacent business as he attempted to climb down the ladder on the side of the building. The Mounties surrounded the building and apprehended the suspect without incident.
30-year-old Kiefer Beaulieu now faces multiple charges including breaking and entering with intent to commit, possession of break-in instruments, mischief and 3 counts of failure to comply.
Beaulieu has been remanded into custody.
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- Contributed by Eric Fawx
A Manitoba man received notice only hours before his triple bypass surgery was set to take place at a Winnipeg Hospital on Friday that the surgery was cancelled.
Steve Garbutt of Rapid City Manitoba along with his wife Joan made the almost three hour trip into Winnipeg in preparation for his surgery and Joan said that Steve was able to get all his blood work and his Covid-19 test done for the pre-op the day before the scheduled surgery and everything went well but ultimately got the call about 12 hours before the scheduled time.
The couple waited in the city until Saturday in case the surgery was rescheduled for the next day but received a call to say all cardiac surgeries had been cancelled. They aren’t the only residents in the province to have surgeries cancelled due to staff shortages.
Doctors Manitoba released an estimate of the number of surgeries backlogged in the province and it sits at approximately 152,000.
The province is planning an announcement on Wednesday about the surgery backlogs across Manitoba.
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- Contributed by Eric Fawx
Assembly of First Nations National Chief, RoseAnne Archibald, has announced that the Indigenous delegation planning a trip to the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis has been postponed due to pandemic concerns. The trip was planned for next week and private meetings were to take place with the Pope from December 17 to 20.
The goal of the delegation was the ask the Pope to apologize personally for the Roman Catholic Church's role in running residential schools in Canada. This is something that former Pope Benedict failed to do when asked by a delegation back in 2009.
The delegation hoped these meetings would set the groundwork for the Pope's upcoming trip to Canada which has yet to be scheduled.
We are still waiting to find out more information about the ground search at the former residential school site in Dauphin that took place last month.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Leonard Skead, who lives in Brandon, said he felt like he was put in jail for a crime he didn't commit when he was forced to stay an extra day in a Toronto quarantine hotel.
Skead says he wasn't allowed to leave a Toronto quarantine hotel until the day after he received a negative result on the COVID-19 test he completed when he landed in Canada.
He says the negative results came out on Saturday, but a quarantine officer didn't call until Sunday, and he says it meant he had to cancel his flight and stay in the quarantine hotel another day.
Canadians traveling from one of 10 African countries, including South Africa and Egypt, are required to obtain a COVID-19 test in the country they're traveling from, obtain a second test while in transit and get a third after arrival in Canada.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
