Manitoba reports 5 new coronavirus deaths, 198 new cases

Manitoba health officials say another five Manitobans with COVID-19 have died while 198 new cases of the virus have been identified.

The latest cases announced Thursday bring the province’s total number of cases reported since March to 28,089 after health officials say two previously reported cases have been removed due to a data correction.

Since March, 793 Manitobans have died from COVID-19.

The latest cases include 54 cases in the Winnipeg Health region, 13 cases in the Southern Health region, 17 cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region, 105 cases in the Northern Health region, and nine cases in the Interlake-Eastern Health region.

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As of Thursday morning health officials said there are 125 people in hospital with active COVID-19 as well as 143 who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 268 hospitalizations.

There are 23 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as 11 who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care for a total of 34 ICU patients.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 9.2 per cent provincially and 6.6 per cent in Winnipeg.

Manitoba announced 153 new cases and six 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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