Manitoba ends 2020 with 187 new coronavirus cases, 6 additional deaths

Health officials say another six Manitobans have died from COVID-19 and 187 more have been infected with the virus.

The latest cases announced on the last day of 2020 bring the province’s total number of cases reported since March to 24,700.

Since March, 667 Manitobans have died from COVID-19.

The latest victims include:

• a woman in her 70s from the Prairie Mountain Health region;
• a man in his 80s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region;
• a woman in her 70s from the Winnipeg health region;
• a woman in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to outbreak at the Convalescent Home of Winnipeg;
• a woman in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Charleswood Care Centre; and
• a woman in her 90s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Poseidon Care Centre.

According to the province, there are 247 people in hospital with active COVID-19 as well as 90 people in hospital with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 337 hospitalizations.

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There are 33 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as four people with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care for a total of 37 ICU patients.

Thursday’s latest cases include 91 cases in the Winnipeg Health region, 33 cases in the Southern Health region, seven cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region, 38 cases in the Northern Health region, and 18 cases in the Interlake-Eastern Health region.

The five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate was11.2 per cent provincially and 10.4 per cent in Winnipeg as of Thursday morning.

Health officials say 2,083 tests for novel coronavirus were done Thursday, bringing the total number of tests done across the province since February to 421,630.

There were 4,505 active cases of COVID-19 across Manitoba on Thursday, according to provincial data, but Manitoba’s chief provincial health officer has said the number is likely inflated due to a backlog in case monitoring.

Health officials said Thursday new outbreaks have been declared at the Tudor House Personal Care Home in Selkirk and the Southeast Personal Care Home in Winnipeg.

Meanwhile, previously declared outbreaks at at Misericordia Place and Kildonan Personal Care Centre in Winnipeg, and Rosewood Lodge Personal Care Home in Stonewall have ended, the province said.

The province also gave an update on vaccination efforts Thursday, telling media roughly 3,400 immunizations have been given since the vaccine arrived in Manitoba earlier this month.

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On Wednesday, when Manitoba announced 130 new cases and two additional deaths from the virus, Premier Brian Pallister said the province will no longer hold back half of the Pfizer vaccine doses it receives.

The vaccine requires two doses about three weeks apart, so health officials have been keeping half of the shipments in reserve out of an abundance of caution.

The move puts Manitoba in line with provinces such as Saskatchewan, Alberta, B.C. and New Brunswick, which have all said they don’t plan to hold back doses.

Health officials said Thursday thousands of appointments have already been made for the next round of vaccinations, expected to be done out of a new vaccination super site at the RBC Convention Centre, starting Jan. 4.

The province expects to receive and administer some 40,000 doses of the vaccine before the end of January, according to the premier, with most of those going into the arms of front-line health-care workers.

–With files from Will Reimer 

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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