Manitoba now has 64 probable or confirmed cases of COVID-19, provincial officials said at a Saturday morning briefing.
That’s a 25 case jump from Friday to Saturday.
“The best way of reducing the spread is to stay home if you can,” chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said.
“We’re going to reduce the peak of this virus.”
A second person was taken to hospital for the disease, Roussin said. They are currently in intensive care.
The first person to be taken to hospital for COVID-19 in Manitoba died Friday after a week in intensive care. She was a woman in her 60s.
The province is still studying how the new patients got the virus and whether they spread it to others.
“We’re not seeing that sustained community-based transmission,” Roussin said when asked if the new cases are related to travel or community contact, although he noted community transmission of the virus is inevitable.
Roussin warned Manitobans not to panic about the sudden spike in cases, noting the health care system has been preparing for COVID-19’s spread to Manitoba since February.