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On Monday afternoon Manitoba’s education minister announced some big changes to the structure of the province’s education system.

Cliff Cullen called it a monumental day for education in Manitoba as he provided the details of the overhaul that will see the 37 school divisions in the province reduced to 15.

Unifying the school divisions into one Provincial Education Authority will introduce much-needed change towards improving student classroom results, Cullen says.

Within that authority, 15 regions will be tasked with focusing on local needs. Cullen added that the plan looks to provide parents with an opportunity for “meaningful involvement in local decision-making through new School Community Councils”.

There will be no changes to the French school division, Division Scolaire franco-manitobaine (DSFM).

He says the province expects up to 40 million dollars to be shifted to the classroom as a result of the restructuring announced today.

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There were 50 new cases of COVID-19 identified in Manitoba on Monday and no new deaths.

Dr. Brent Roussin announced that 18 additional cases of the B.1.1.7 (UK) variant have been identified, bringing the total number of variant cases in Manitoba to 41.

One of the newly announced variant cases is from the Interlake–Eastern health region and 17 are from the Winnipeg health region.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 4.8% provincially and 3.5% in Winnipeg. The total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba is 32,793.

There are 908 active cases and 30,968 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19.

There are 56 people in hospital with active COVID-19 as well as 95 people in hospital who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 151 hospitalizations.

There are 11 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as 12 people who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care, for a total of 23 ICU patients.

The total number of deaths in people with COVID-19 is 917.

Today’s new cases are from the following Manitoba health districts:
• zero cases in Interlake–Eastern health region
• 16 cases in the Northern health region
• zero cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region
• three cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region
• 31 cases in the Winnipeg health region

According to the province’s data, there are active cases of COVID-19 in the following Parkland health districts: Dauphin (0), Duck Mountain (1), Porcupine Mountain (2), Whitemud (0), Asessippi (2), and Little Saskatchewan (6). Brandon has 9 active cases.

In the Interlake, the Eriksdale/Ashern health district has no active cases, and the Fisher/Peguis health district has four.

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The vaccination campaign is ramping up this week in Manitoba with pop-up clinics visiting some rural communities throughout the province.

Nationwide there have been over three million vaccine doses given out, with just shy of 600,000 Canadians now fully vaccinated — about 1.5% of the country.

Starting today in Manitoba, vaccination pop-up clinics will be making stops in rural communities, offering a more convenient option for those who don’t want to drive a long distance to the nearest supersite. 

Pop-up clinics in Prairie Mountain Health will be coming to Dauphin at the Ukrainian Orthodox Hall on Whitmore Avenue this Thursday, March 18 (12:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.) and Friday, March 19th (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) by appointment only.

The pop-up vaccine clinic in Swan River will be located at the Swan River Veteran’s Hall on Wednesday March 24th (12:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.) and Thursday March 25th (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

This week will also see pop-up clinics coming to Portage la Prairie, Ashern, and Eriksdale. Click here for more information on locations and hours of operation. All are by appointment only.

The eligibility criteria to be vaccinated at the newly launched pop-up clinics is the same as the big city supersites — individuals 77 years of age and older or First Nations people 57 years of age and older.

In order to book an appointment, eligible Manitobans must call 1-844-626-8222 (1-844-MAN-VACC).


The AstraZeneca Vaccine In Manitoba

Last week about 18,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine were received in Manitoba and shipped to several pharmacies and medical clinics throughout the province.

“Now that the vaccine has arrived, we are shipping that vaccine out to clinics and pharmacists so they can begin giving the vaccine as soon as possible,” said Johanu Botha, co-lead of Manitoba’s Vaccine Implementation Task Force.

The eligibility criteria to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine includes those aged 50 to 64 at greater risk of severe outcomes — and First Nations people aged 30 to 64 at risk of severe outcomes.

AstraZeneca is currently not recommended for use in Canada for those over the age of 65. This week the National Advisory Committee on Immunization will provide further guidance on this particular vaccine's use in older populations.

An online map on the Government of Manitoba website shows which locations in the province are accepting phone calls to book appointments for the AstraZeneca option.

“After considering all of these factors, individuals who are age 50 to 64, and First Nations people age 30 to 64, will be the first group eligible for this vaccine. We have developed a list of criteria to prioritize people from within this age group. A person’s doctor or pharmacist can make the determination if they should be considered a high priority,” said Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead for Manitoba's vaccine task force.

To view the criteria pharmacists and physicians use to determine who receives the AstraZeneca jab, click here.

Several European countries have paused their use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after reports of blood clots in some people. Health Canada maintains the vaccine is still safe to go ahead with and points out that the potential issue with AstraZeneca appears to stem from a particular batch of the vaccine manufactured in Europe.

The caccines currently authorized for use in Canada are shipped to Manitoba by the federal government -- and include Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca/Covishield. Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine has been approved by Health Canada but is not yet available for use in the country. 

Details

Health officials reported 44 new cases of COVID-19 and one death on Sunday.

The death of a man in his 70s at the Southeast Personal Care Home in the Winnipeg health region brings the number of people to die with COVID-19 in Manitoba to 917.

None of today’s new cases have been identified as variants of concern. There have been 23 total cases of variants of concern — 12 of the B.1.17 (UK) variant and 11 of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 4.5% provincially and 3.1% in Winnipeg. The total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba is 32,743.

There are 891 active cases and 30,935 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 in Manitoba.

There are 55 people in hospital with active COVID-19 as well as 93 people in hospital who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 148 hospitalizations.

There are 12 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as 11 people who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care, for a total of 23 ICU patients.

Today’s new COVID cases are from the following health districts:
• two cases in Interlake-Eastern health region
• 14 cases in the Northern health region
• two cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region
• three cases in the Southern Health-Santé Sud health region
• 23 cases in the Winnipeg health region

According to the province’s data, there are active cases of COVID-19 in the following Parkland health districts: Dauphin (0), Duck Mountain (1), Porcupine Mountain (2), Whitemud (1), Asessippi (1), and Little Saskatchewan (7). Brandon has 9 active cases.

In the Interlake, the Eriksdale/Ashern health district has no active cases, and the Fisher/Peguis health district has four.

Details

Health officials announced 94 new cases of COVID-19 and four more deaths in the province today.

Three of today’s deaths are in the Winnipeg health region and one is in the Interlake region.

Today’s new COVID-19 cases are in the following health regions:
•    three cases in Interlake-Eastern health region 
•    45 cases in the Northern health region  
•    seven cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region  
•    10 cases in the Southern Health-Santé Sud health region
•    29 cases in the Winnipeg health region

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 4.2 percent provincially and 2.9 percent in Winnipeg.

There have been a total of 32,699 cases province-wide and 916 deaths.

There are 909 active cases and 30,873 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19. 

There are 56 people in hospital with active COVID-19 and 96 people in hospital who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 152 hospitalizations.  

There are 11 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 and 11 people who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care, for a total of 22 ICU patients.

According to the province’s data, there are active cases of COVID-19 in the following Parkland health districts: Dauphin (0), Duck Mountain (1), Porcupine Mountain (2), Whitemud (1), Asessippi (1), and Little Saskatchewan (7). Brandon has 8 active cases.

In the Interlake, the Eriksdale/Ashern health district has 0 active cases, while Fisher/Peguis has 4.

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Don’t forget to set your clocks ahead by an hour before bed on Saturday night.

On Sunday morning the official time change to Daylight Saving Time occurs at 2 a.m., at which point clocks should be set ahead to 3 a.m.

As many provinces and territories get set to move the clocks ahead an hour, Saskatchewan and one other Canadian jurisdiction will be not be taking part.

Four months ago, Yukon moved away from Daylight Saving Time, a process government officials say has gone relatively smoothly.

Yukon’s decision to stop changing the clocks makes it the first place in North America to do so in more than two decades.

Although there have been discussions in Manitoba in recent years around the topic of Daylight Saving Time, there’s no indication our province will be ditching the practice anytime soon.

Details

Health officials announced 104 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and one death — a woman in her 80s from a Winnipeg care home.

Dr. Brent Roussin also announced two minor changes to the public health orders:

(1) The first adjustment to the orders will allow outdoor dining on patios at restaurants and licensed premises for groups up to six people from different households. Dr. Roussin says the change was partly motivated unexpectedly warm temperatures being experienced in some parts of the province.

(2) The other amendment to the health orders will amend the mask rules for churches, and no longer require masks be worn while household groups are seated at a service, not singing, and appropriately distanced from other groups.

The adjustments to the health orders go into effect as of Saturday, March 13.


Today’s COVID Numbers

Public health officials are announcing one new confirmed case of the B.1.1.7 variant (U.K. variant) has been detected. The case is from the Winnipeg health region and is related to travel.

The total number of confirmed variant of concern cases of B.1.1.7 (U.K. variant) is 12 and B.1.351 (South Africa variant) is 11, bringing the total number of confirmed variant of concern cases to 23.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 4.1% provincially and 3% in Winnipeg. The total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba is 32,607.

There are 872 active cases and 30,823 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19.

There are 54 people in hospital with active COVID-19 as well as 100 people in hospital who are no longer infectious but continue to require care (154 hospitalizations total).

There are 10 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as 12 people who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care (22 ICU patients total).

The total number of deaths in people with COVID-19 is 912.

Today’s new COVID-19 cases are from the following Manitoba health districts:
• six cases in Interlake–Eastern health region
• 51 cases in the Northern health region
• five cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region
• five cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region
• 37 cases in the Winnipeg health region

According to the province’s data, there are active cases of COVID-19 in the following Parkland health districts: Dauphin (0), Duck Mountain (1), Porcupine Mountain (2), Whitemud (2), Asessippi (0), and Little Saskatchewan (6). Brandon has 5 active cases.

In the Interlake, the Eriksdale/Ashern health district has 0 active cases, while Fisher/Peguis has 2.

Details

Members of local 2034 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) set up a picket line Friday outside of Dauphin’s Manitoba Hydro building on Whitmore Avenue.

A series of rotating strikes began earlier this week when the union representing electrical workers at Manitoba Hydro rejected the company's latest offer.

IBEW represents roughly 2,300 Manitoba Hydro workers.

Manitoba Hydro's media relations officer said in a release that the company "has contingency plans in place to ensure it can continue to provide its essential and emergency service to customers and maintain public safety around its facilities and infrastructure."

Details

A special performance happening at the Watson Art Centre this weekend will welcome concert-goers virtually.

Four-time MCMA winner Quinton Blair will be holding a free virtual concert at the Watson Art Centre as part of the Safe At Home program through the Manitoba Government.

The event will get underway at 8 p.m. on Saturday March 13th through Facebook Live.

Peter Nadolny, Coordinator at the Watson Art Centre, reflects it was exactly one year ago, when Quinton’s live concert was scheduled, but got cancelled due to COVID-19.

“One of the hardest phone calls I had to make was to phone Quinton and say look man, we have to cancel. He completely understood. It was the night before so I think it’s pretty cool that it’s exactly one year to the day that he’s coming back here.”

Under the current health orders, the Watson Art Centre must remain closed to the general public. On top of that, Nadolny says a major flood at the Centre last month caused extensive damage to the building.

“We had some pipes freeze upstairs and we did everything we could to avoid it, but it was just too cold. Some pipes burst and the entire upstairs foyer, downstairs foyer, elevator shaft, basement, pump room, everything. Huge, huge damages.”

Nadolny says going forward, they’ll work to repair the damages, and the Safe At Home Barn Dance will be held in the fire hall.

To watch the free livestream, you can find the Facebook event page here.

Details

Today health officials announced 91 new cases of COVID-19 and two deaths.

Today's deaths are a woman in her 60's and a woman in her 90's, both from Winnipeg.

Today’s new COVID-19 cases are in the following health regions: 
• one case in Interlake–Eastern health region 
• 50 cases in the Northern health region  
• two cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region  
• seven cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region
• 31 cases in the Winnipeg health region

No new cases of COVID-19 variants have been detected in Manitoba. There have been a total of 22 variant cases in the province.

There have been a total of 32,509 cases province-wide and 911 deaths due to COVID-19.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 3.7 percent provincially and 2.7 percent in Winnipeg. 

There are 1,204 active cases and 30,394 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19. 

There are 54 people in hospital with active COVID-19 as well as 102 people in hospital who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 156 hospitalizations.

 Eight people are in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as 14 people who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care, for a total of 22 ICU patients. 

According to the province’s data, there are active cases of COVID-19 in the following Parkland health districts: Dauphin (0), Duck Mountain (1), Porcupine Mountain (6), Whitemud (2), Little Saskatchewan (5) and Asessippi (4). Brandon has 3 active cases.

In the Interlake, the Eriksdale/Ashern health district has 2 active cases, while Fisher/Peguis has 5.

Details

Today marks exactly one year since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.

The following day on March 12th, Manitoba identified its first case of the virus.

Unlike most Canadian jurisdictions, Manitoba did not experience a significant ‘first wave’, as nearly 70% of Manitoba’s total case count was detected between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020.

On October 13th, the province experienced its first triple-digit increase in cases with 124. Now twelve months in, cases have mostly been brought under control and the ramping up of the vaccine effort has enabled a cautious relaxing of restrictions every three weeks.

However, the recent identification of two variants of concern in Manitoba — the U.K. and South Africa variant — remains a cause for concern for health officials. There have been 22 cases of COVID variants detected in the provice.

There have been 32,421 total cases identified in Manitoba and 908 deaths in people with COVD-19.

Today nurses in the province are calling on Manitobans to wear white to reflect on the impact the pandemic has had on front line workers in Manitoba, including those who died, those who became ill, and those whose mental health has taken a toll.

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