Manitoba reports 8 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, 7 tied to Hutterite colonies

Manitoba health officials reported eight new COVID-19 cases Wednesday and said seven are tied to Hutterite colonies.

The new cases bring Manitoba’s total of lab-confirmed and probable cases recorded since March to 374.

Several Manitoba Hutterite colonies have been under voluntary lockdown after cases began surfacing in the communities last week. Health officials have said the outbreak is travel-related and can be traced to a funeral held at a Hutterite colony in Alberta.

Wednesday’s cases include two in the east Interlake, one in Winnipeg, two in the Prairie Mountain health region and three in southern Manitoba, the province said.

According to provincial data, the new cases include one man in his 70s, three women in their 50s, a woman in her 30s, a man and woman in their 20s, and a girl under 10.

After seeing no cases for the first half of the month, Manitoba has reported 39 new cases since July 14.

The latest cases come a day after Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister released a draft plan for the province’s fourth phase of reopening after the initial clampdown as the pandemic hit Canada.

The plan, which could be enacted as soon as Saturday, would see casinos and movie theatres reopen, caps on public gatherings raised and COVID-19 restrictions on inter-provincial travellers lifted.

The province has set up an online survey to help gauge the public’s interest in further easing restrictions and there’s also a telephone town hall planned to discuss Phase 4 reopening at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Go to the province’s website to register for the town hall and take the survey.

As of Wednesday Manitoba has 49 known active cases of the coronavirus, with one person in intensive care.

Since March, 318 people have recovered from the virus and seven Manitobans have died.

The province says 722 tests for the virus were done Tuesday, bringing the total number of COVID-19 tests performed in Manitoba to 78,283 since early February.

Health officials say Manitoba’s five-day test positivity rate is 1.12 per cent as of Wednesday.

4:34 Coronavirus: Manitoba looks at starting Phase 4 reopening as early as July 25

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. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus. In some provinces and municipalities across the country, masks or face coverings are now mandatory in indoor public spaces.

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