Manitoba reports 14 more coronavirus deaths, 221 new cases Thursday

Manitoba health officials say another 14 Manitobans have died from COVID-19 and 221 more are newly infected with the virus.

The latest cases announced on the province’s online COVID-19 portal Thursday bring the province’s total number of cases reported since March to 22,047.

Since March 537 Manitobans have died from COVID-19.

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The latest deaths include:

• a woman in her 30s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region;
• a man in his 40s from the Winnipeg health region;
• a woman in her 50s from the Winnipeg health region;
• a woman in her 50s from the Interlake–Eastern health region.
• a man in his 60s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region;
• a man in his 70s from the Winnipeg health region;
• a man in his 80s from the Winnipeg health region;
• a man in his 80s from the Interlake–Eastern health region, linked to the outbreak at the Kin Place;
• a woman in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Charleswood Care Centre;
• a woman in her 90s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Charleswood Care Centre;
• a woman in her 90s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Maples Long Term Care Home;
• a woman in her 90s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Convalescent Home of Winnipeg;
• a man in his 90s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Charleswood Care Centre; and
• a woman in her 100s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Maples Long Term Care Home.

The new cases reported Thursday include 111 cases in the Winnipeg Health region, 27 cases in the Southern Health region, 11 cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region, 51 cases in the Northern Health region, and 21 cases in the Interlake-Eastern Health region.

According to the province there are 314 people in hospital with 42 people in intensive care due to COVID-19.

The five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate was 13 per cent provincially as of Thursday morning.

Health officials say 2,235 tests for novel coronavirus were done Wednesday, bringing the total number of tests done across the province since February to 396,779.

There were 5,829 active cases of COVID-19 across Manitoba Thursday, according to provincial data, but Manitoba’s chief provincial health officer has said the number is likely inflated due to an ongoing backlog in case monitoring.

Manitoba announced 292 new cases and 15 additional deaths from the virus on Wednesday.

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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