Manitoba health officials report 1 coronavirus-related death, 70 new cases

Another Manitoban with COVID-19 has died and health officials say 70 new infections have been identified across the province.

The latest victim reported Thursday, a man in his 70s from the Winnipeg Health region, brings the province’s COVID-19 death toll to 888.

The new cases come from across Manitoba with 31 cases identified in the Winnipeg area, two cases found in the Southern Heath region, 30 cases identified in the Northern Health region, and seven new cases found in the Interlake-Eastern Health region.

No new cases were reported in the Prairie Mountain Health region Thursday.

3:29 Answering your COVID-19 questions, Feb. 25

The latest cases bring the province’s total number of infections reported since last March to 31,657 after health officials say three previously announced cases were removed due to data corrections.

There are currently 1,206 active cases across the province, according to provincial data.

There are now 196 people in hospital as a result of novel coronavirus — down from 207 reported Wednesday — and 26 patients in ICU connected to the virus, three less than were reportedly in need of critical care Wednesday.

Laboratory testing numbers show 2,290 tests were completed Wednesday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since February 2020 to 519,892.

Health officials say strict public health orders have been lifted for Pauingassi First Nation as transmission rates of the virus in the remote community have fallen.

The Canadian military was sent into Pauingassi First Nation, roughly 280 km northeast of Winnipeg, in early February to help the community deal with an outbreak.

Meanwhile, Canadian Armed Forces members arrived in Pimicikamak First Nation earlier in the day Thursday to help with an ongoing outbreak in that community.

According to provincial health data, the current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 4.3  per cent provincially and 3.8 per cent in Winnipeg.

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, visit our coronavirus page.