Coronavirus: Manitoba now has 35 cases after 14-person jump

Manitoba has seen a 14-person jump in novel coronavirus cases.

Manitoba now sits at 35 probable and confirmed cases of COVID-19, the province announced Wednesday. One woman has been admitted to hospital in critical condition.

Of those cases, 14 are confirmed and the rest are probable.

Dr. Brent Roussin, the province’s chief public health officer, says the increase was expected.

• Case information includes:
• case 23 is a woman in her 30s who lives in Winnipeg,
• case 24 is a girl under the age of 10 who lives in Winnipeg,
• case 25 is a woman in her 40s who lives in Winnipeg,
• case 26 is a man in his 30s who lives in Winnipeg,
• case 27 is a woman in her 60s who lives in Winnipeg,
• case 28 is a woman in her 60s who lives in Winnipeg and receiving treatment in intensive care in hospital,
• case 29 is a man in his 40s who lives in Winnipeg,
• case 30 is a woman in her 30s who lives in a community in the area of the Southern Health Santé Sud health region,
• case 31 is a woman in her 40s who lives in Winnipeg,
• case 32 is a man in his 60s who lives in Winnipeg,
• case 33 is a woman in her 60s who lives in Winnipeg,
• case 34 is a woman in her 50s who lives in a community in the Southern Health Santé Sud health region,
• case 35 is a woman in her 20s who lives in Winnipeg, and
• case 36 is an individual who was tested in the Prairie Mountain Health region.

Most appear to be travel related, said Roussin.

“Information about flights where a person with a lab-confirmed case of COVID-19 had symptoms at the time of travel is updated as information becomes available at www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/flights.html,” said the province in a release.

Roussin said they are working around the clock to increase their testing capacity.

“There’s a lot of focus on testing, but testing is not the only answer here,” said Roussin, saying people who are ill should stay home.

Community transmission is expected eventually, he added.

“When we say community transmission, we’re talking about pop-up cases,” he said, cases that can’t be traced to a “transmission chain.”

He also begged people to be honest about whether or not they have traveled.

Roussin said in this case, people didn’t disclose they had traveled when seeking unrelated medical care, and therefore extra precautions weren’t taken.

An outright ban on travel is not being considered at this time, said Roussin.

As capacity increases at the provincial lab, criteria for testing will be expanding, said Roussin.

Saskatchewan’s worst case scenario numbers were leaked to media Tuesday. Asked about Manitoba’s worst case numbers, Roussin would not give numbers.

“We’re informing Manitobans that we’re expecting more cases … but we don’t release the specifics because they’re very prone to misinterpretation.”

Tuesday, the provincial government froze rent increases and postponed non-urgent rent evictions.

Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.

To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.

For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.