Health officials say another four Manitobans have died from COVID-19 and 53 more have been infected with the virus.
The latest cases announced on the province’s online COVID-19 portal Monday bring the province’s total number of cases reported since March to 30,289, after health officials say one previously announced case was removed due to a data correction.
The list of new daily cases is the lowest Manitoba has seen since mid-October.
“Our numbers today are again trending in the right direction … this is all the result of the work of Manitobans” said Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief public health officer.
“We can see that the restrictions that we have in place are quite tough … but they are working.”
Since March, 850 Manitobans have died from COVID-19.
The latest cases include 31 cases in the Winnipeg Health region, four cases in the Southern Health region, three cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region, 12 cases in the Northern Health region, and three cases in the Interlake-Eastern Health region.
The latest deaths include:
- a woman in her 60s from the Northern health region;
- a woman in her 70s from the Northern health region;
- a woman in her 80s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region, linked to the outbreak at Morris General Hospital; and
- a man in his 70s from the Winnipeg health region.
As of Monday morning health officials said there are 105 people in hospital with active COVID-19 as well as 166 who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 271 hospitalizations.
There are 15 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as 19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care for a total of 34 ICU patients.
The ICU numbers are the lowest Manitoba has seen since late November, Roussin noted.
The five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate was 5.9 per cent provincially and 4.2 per cent in Winnipeg as of Monday morning.
Health officials say 1,373 tests for novel coronavirus were done Sunday, bringing the total number of tests done across the province since last February to 490,879.
There were 1,622 active cases of COVID-19 across Manitoba on Monday, according to provincial data.
Outbreaks have been declared at Actionmarguerite St. Boniface, Seven Oaks General Hospital Unit 3U1-3, and St. Amant Health and Transition Services, all in Winnipeg, health officials said Monday.
Outbreaks have been declared over at St. Paul’s Personal Care Home in Dauphin, Salem Home in Winkler, and Extendicare Tuxedo Villa Personal Care Home and Seven Oaks General Hospital Unit 4U8-12 in Winnipeg, the province says.
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Over the weekend Manitoba reported eight additional deaths connected to novel coronavirus, as well as 162 new cases of the virus.
On Saturday Canadian soldiers were deployed to Pauingassi First Nation to help deal with an outbreak.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the troops will remain in the community, roughly 282 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, until Wednesday.
He said the First Nation asked for help and the soldiers will provide logistical support, transport goods and medical supplies, and do wellness checks.
Expanded rapid testing, vaccination update
The province announced plans Monday to open up rapid COVID-19 testing for asymptomatic staff at more personal care homes across the province.
The move follows a month-long pilot project at three PCHs that saw 1,422 tests completed, resulting in three positive tests.
“The fast identification of a positive test result enables the quickest possible action for the facility and the province,” said Manitoba Health and Seniors Care Minister Heather Stefanson, in a release.
“Using our available complement of rapid tests to further expand access to this testing will increase the safety of residents and staff in personal care homes.”
The province says the Abbot Panbio COVID-19 rapid antigen test — which brings results in roughly 20 minutes — will be made available to staff at nearly 40 PCHs in the coming weeks.
The testing will be voluntary, the province says, and staff with symptoms of COVID-19 or known exposure to the virus continue to be required to stay home.
Starting Monday, all Manitoba child-care providers working in licensed child-care centres, nursery schools and family/group child-care homes, including eligible early child development specialists or autism applied behaviour analysts/consultants, can now access Fast Pass rapid testing at 1066 Nairn Ave. in Winnipeg.
Meanwhile the province says a disruption to vaccine supplies will mean a delay for second-dose appointments next week.
Health officials say second-dose appointments scheduled from Feb. 15 to 17 are being rescheduled, and affected Manitobans will be contacted by email or text.
The province says anyone scheduled for a second-dose who isn’t contacted should attend their scheduled appointments.
As of Monday the province says it has received a total of 66,090 doses of vaccine, including 43,290 doses of Pfizer vaccine and 22,800 doses of the Moderna vaccine.
Manitoba has been told it can expect 3,510 doses of Pfizer this week and another 15,210 doses next week. There’s been no delivery projections for Manitoba’s next shipment of Moderna vaccine, the province says.
To date, 48,187 doses of vaccine have been given in Manitoba including 33,654 first doses and 14,533 second doses, according to provincial data.
The latest details on who is eligible for vaccinations is available on the province’s website.
–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.
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