Brandon School Division buses will not be operating outside the city of Brandon for Friday February 12th all day due to extreme cold; all Brandon School Division schools will be open; buses will be running within the city of Brandon; attendance at schools is at parental discretion where travel is required. Please call your school if you are not going to be attending. All Brandon School Division Staff are to report to work. (submitted)

On Tuesday afternoon, Brandon's emergency services responded to a crash between an SUV and a taxi near the Brandon Police Station.The crash at 11th Street and McTavish Ave sent an SUV plowing through a snowbank and up onto a sidewalk. The impact caused airbags to deploy in both vehicles, and fluids were leaking from the taxi. Firefighters used sand to help soak up the spill.  It is unknown if anyone was injured during the collision. Photo by: Liam Pattison Photo by: Liam Pattison Photo by: Liam Pattison

In order to build capacity and prepare for an unprecedented immunization campaign, the province has once again expanded the professions that will be able to protect Manitobans by administering the COVID-19 vaccine, Health and Seniors Care Minister Heather Stefanson announced today.  “The number of vaccine doses delivered to Manitoba by the federal government so far is only a tiny fraction of what we will need in the coming months to protect Manitobans,” said Stefanson. “Today we are expanding the number of people permitted to administer vaccines, so that when those vaccines are delivered to our province, I have been assured that we will be ready to mobilize our plan to vaccinate up to 20,000 Manitobans a day.” Earlier today, the minister signed an order under the Regulated Health Professions Act (vaccination administration) to add new professions able to administer the COVID-19 vaccine under certain conditions. Additional immunizers are not needed at this time due to low vaccine supply, but the order is part of the province’s contingency planning to mobilize a broader workforce if needed in the future. The order applies to:• athletic therapists,;• chiropractors,• dental hygienists,• massage therapists, and• optometrists. “I want to thank all of the Manitobans who have stepped forward to play a part in the largest immunization rollout in the history of our province,” said Stefanson. “Manitoba is ready to start putting vaccines in arms as soon as we start receiving more supply from the federal government.” In the coming weeks, the province will work with these professions and other stakeholders to discuss what types of training, recruitment and retention initiatives might be appropriate. More details will be shared with these professions as soon as it is available including when recruitment may be expanded to include their members. The order is available at https://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/statutes/index_orders.php. With the most recent expansion, a total of 17 professions can provide a COVID-19 immunization. Today’s announcement builds on previously announced initiatives to build Manitoba’s vaccination capacity in anticipation of additional vaccines becoming available in the coming weeks and months including:• deploying Focused Immunization Teams (FIT) to vaccinate Manitoba’s most vulnerable residents in congregate care settings;• partnering with the Manitoba First Nations COVID-19 Pandemic Response Coordination Team, the Southern Chiefs’ Organization and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs to open a vaccination site to immunize members of priority populations identified by First Nation medical leadership;• opening of super sites in Winnipeg, Brandon and Thompson, with plans to open more in Southern Health–Santé Sud and Interlake–Eastern health regions; and• partnering with doctors and pharmacists to provide immunizations when additional vaccines become available. Earlier today, representatives from the Vaccine Implementation Task Force provided an update on recruitment and retention initiatives. The province currently has 1,457 COVID-19 immunizers ready to support the vaccine rollout across the province, in addition to hundreds of other related positions. Manitoba is preparing to deliver 20,000 doses of vaccine a day in the coming months, and a robust immunization workforce is needed to achieve that goal. The presentation is available at https://manitoba.ca/covid19/vaccine/reports.html under Reports. For more information about Manitoba’s COVID-19 vaccine campaign, visit www.manitoba.ca/vaccine.(Province of MB News Release)

(Source: Brandon Police Service Media Release)While responding to a disturbance call in the 000 block of 22nd Street an intoxicated male assaulted two police officers.  The 36-year-old Brandon male has been charged with Resist Arrest and Assault Police.  He has been released from custody to appear in court April 6th

Following feedback from Manitobans and advice from public health leaders, the province is loosening a variety of restrictions while ensuring protocols are in place to protect Manitobans from the risks of COVID-19, Premier Brian Pallister and Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief provincial health officer, announced today. “Today is another big day for Manitobans, especially for our local business owners who are eager to safely reopen their doors, and provide the goods and services that Manitobans have missed the past few months,” said Pallister. “With fewer restrictions, we must remain cautious, in fact, even more cautious. In the absence of COVID-19 vaccines from the federal government, following the fundamentals is how we continue to protect each other and save lives.” The orders will formalize the following changes for all of Manitoba, replacing the General COVID-19 Prevention Orders made on Jan. 28 and the Northern Manitoba COVID-19 Prevention Orders made on Feb. 1, 2021. The orders will take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 12 and will last for three weeks. The orders include the following changes, with further pandemic safety measures in place:• allowing restaurants and licensed premises to reopen at 25 per cent capacity with patron groups limited to members of the same household only;• allowing outdoor sports facilities to reopen for casual sports as well as organized practices and games, with multi-team tournaments not permitted;• allowing gyms, fitness centres and yoga studios to reopen at 25 per cent capacity;• allowing indoor sporting facilities such as rinks, gymnastic clubs and martial arts studios to reopen at 25 per cent capacity for individual instruction only;• allowing places of worship to hold regular religious services if a service does not exceed 10 per cent of usual capacity or 50 people, whichever is lower;• allowing self-help groups for persons dealing with addictions or other behaviours to hold meetings at 25 per cent capacity of the premise where meetings take place;• allowing museums, art galleries and libraries to operate at 25 per cent capacity;• allowing personal service businesses, such as those providing pedicures, electrolysis, cosmetic application, tanning, tattooing or massage services to reopen at 25 per cent capacity;• allowing up to 10 people to attend a wedding in addition to the officiant and a photographer or videographer;• allowing photographers and videographers to offer services to individual clients or those residing in the same household in addition to providing services at weddings, with the exception of visiting client homes; and• allowing the film industry to operate fully with physical distancing and other safety measures in place. “These new orders allow us to resume more activities and services we enjoy, but we cannot let our guard down yet,” said Roussin. “We will continue to carefully monitor COVID-19 developments and case numbers to ensure we protect each other and our health-care system. Manitobans need to continue to follow the fundamentals at all times including staying home when sick, frequent handwashing and wearing masks. We all have a part to play in keeping our COVID-19 curve down so we can continue making measured progress towards getting back to the things we love.” The new orders also bring the entire province under the same restrictions, where the northern region had previously been under separate orders to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the region. Under the new orders, northern Manitoba will see the changes listed above in addition to the restrictions in place over the last three weeks for the rest of the province including:• household visitor restrictions of up to two designated people,• visits of five people plus members of a household on an outdoor private property,• retail stores open at 25 per cent capacity or 250 people maximum with adequate physical distancing, and• non-regulated health services, hair salons and barbershops open with 25 per cent capacity and adequate physical distancing. Since Feb. 4, over 33,000 responses were provided on the proposed changes to the orders. Feedback indicated:• 65 per cent of respondents felt somewhat or very comfortable going to restaurants;• 57 per cent of respondents felt somewhat or very comfortable going to the gym or to a yoga studio; and• opening food services was ranked the highest priority for respondents, followed by opening personal services like nail salons and tattoo parlors, allowing gyms to reopen for individual training and allowing outdoor organized outdoor sports to resume for games or practices. Final survey results will be posted on the EngageMB website once compiled. For up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Manitoba, visit www.manitoba.ca/COVID19. (Province of MB News Release)