Manitoba sees another 15 coronavirus deaths, 292 new cases Wednesday

Manitoba health officials say another 15 Manitobans with COVID-19 have died and 292 new infections have been identified Wednesday.

The deaths bring Manitoba’s total number of deaths to 523, according to data on the province’s online COVID-19 portal.

The list of Manitoba’s latest victims include:

• a man in his 40s from the Winnipeg health region;
• a woman in her 40s from the Interlake–Eastern health region, linked to outbreak at Kin Place;
• a man in his 50s from the Interlake–Eastern health region;
• a woman in her 50s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Concordia Hospital unit N3W;
• a man in his 60s from the Winnipeg health region;
• a man in his 70s from the Prairie Mountain Health region, linked to the outbreak at the Fairview Home;
• a woman in her 70s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Charleswood Care Centre;
• a woman in her 70s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the St. Norbert Personal Care Home;
• a man in his 70s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the St. Norbert Personal Care Home;
• a man in his 80s from the Southern Health–Sante Sud health region;
• a man in his 80s from the Prairie Mountain Health region, linked to the outbreak at the Swan Valley Health Centre;
• a woman in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Park Manor Care Home;
• a man in his 90s from the Winnipeg health region;
• a man in his 90s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Park Manor Care Home; and
• a woman in her 100s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Park Manor Care Home.

The new cases reported Wednesday include 158 cases in the Winnipeg Health region, 28 cases in the Southern Health region, 35 cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region, 47 cases in the Northern Health region, and 24 cases in the Interlake-Eastern Health region.

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Since March 21,826 Manitobans have contracted the novel coronavirus.

The five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate was 13.6 per cent provincially and 13.7 per cent in Winnipeg as of Wednesday and there are currently 5,797 active cases of COVID-19 across Manitoba, according to provincial data.

Meanwhile health officials said Wednesday outbreaks have been declared over at The Pas St. Paul’s Residence in The Pas, the Flin Flon Personal Care Home in Flin Flon, the Winnipegosis Personal Care Home in Winnipegosis, and the Bethesda Regional Health Centre Medicine Unit in Steinbach.

First vaccine doses

News of the latest deaths and cases come just hours after the province started administering the first vaccines for the virus.

Dr. Brian Penner, who works in internal medicine at the Health Sciences Centre, was the first in line to get the Pfizer vaccine at around 8:40 a.m. at the province’s first vaccination clinic set up at the University of Manitoba’s Bannatyne campus.

“We’ve been dealing with this virus for nine months, we’re going to have to deal with it for many more months, but today we start to fight back,” said Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief public health officer.

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Health officials say Manitoba has received enough of the vaccine to immunize about 900 health-care workers, and the first round of shots are expected to be finished up by Friday.

“Right now we don’t have enough vaccine for all Manitobans, but we will be getting there,” said Roussin.

“In the meantime we need to continue to follow the public health orders and focus on those fundamentals to keep those numbers down — we’ve made it this far — we can’t let up at this point.”

As more shipments come in — with the next delivery expected as early as next week — priority will be given to other health-care workers, seniors and Indigenous people, the province has said.

The province plans to open fixed vaccination sites in Winnipeg, Brandon, Thompson, Steinbach, Gimli, Portage la Prairie and The Pas in the new year, based on vaccine supplies.

Mobile vaccination teams are also planned to reach remote locations as more vaccine arrives.

Manitoba has said it plans to vaccinate more than 100,000 people by March, roughly seven per cent of the province’s population.

Hospitalizations still too high

Roussin said demands on the health-care system remain high. There were 328 people in hospital, with 46 in intensive care.

He reminded people that only members of the same household are to be together in their home during the holidays.

But a Manitoba First Nation has said it will allow immediate family members to visit the reserve for Christmas. The Peguis First Nation website says all visitors must register and be screened.

“We should never allow someone else to make decisions for us especially involving our families, children and elders, as we’ve learned through our history,” Chief Glen Hudson posted on social media this week.

The office of federal Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said he has been in contact with the chief.

“First Nations are leading the response to protect the health and well-being of their communities, and will decide what is best for them, based on their unique local circumstances,” press secretary Adrienne Vaupshas said in an email.

Premier Brian Pallister on Tuesday called Miller’s approach a “massive mistake.”

“We are not going to have two sets of rules around who’s going to have Christmas.”

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The second wave of COVID-19 has hit First Nations populations in Manitoba particularly hard. There were 1,194 active cases on- and off-reserve on Tuesday, indicated data from Manitoba’sFirst Nations COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team.

First Nations make up more than half of those in intensive care with the virus.

Dr. Jazz Atwal, acting deputy chief public health officer, said it’s not just First Nations that are making tough decisions about holiday visitors.

Many families have post-secondary students who are returning home for the holidays. They also need to take precautions, he said.

–With files from The Canadian Press

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.

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