Manitoba health officials report 9 new cases of coronavirus Friday

Manitoba health officials reported nine new cases of COVID-19 across the province Friday.

The new cases include one person in the Prairie Mountain Health region, two people in the Southern Health region, and six in Winnipeg.

They bring the province’s total number of lab-confirmed cases since March to 1,273, including 422 that remain active. The number of Manitobans who have died from COVID-19 remains at 16.

Health officials said there are currently 11 people in hospital with COVID-19, including one who is in intensive care.

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The new cases in the Southern Health region are not linked to an outbreak at Bethesda Place personal care home in Steinbach, the province said.

The province reported two deaths linked to the Steinbach facility Thursday, two women, one in her 80s and another in her 90s.

Two other residents of the care home died last month due to the illness and health officials said seven workers and two additional residents have also tested positive.

There are a handful of outbreaks at other personal care homes in the province, including two in Winnipeg that were announced Wednesday.

The province lifted visitation restrictions at long-term care facilities in June.

Health officials said 1,737 tests for COVID-19 were completed Thursday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February to 142,718. The province’s five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate was 1.4 per cent as of Friday morning, the province said.

–With files from The Canadian Press

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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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