Exactly a year after Manitoba reported its first COVID-19 infection, health officials reported another death related to the virus and 104 additional cases Friday.
Manitoba reported its first infection from the coronavirus March 12, 2020.
Since that case 32,607 Manitobans have contracted COVID-19, according to provincial records, and 912 Manitobans have died.
“This has been quite a marathon with many ups and downs and at the one year anniversary we’re certainly hopeful because of the vaccine,” Dr. Brent Roussin, the province’s chief public health officer said.
“This has been quite a hard year for all Manitobans, in many different ways, but it shows how resilient and strong Manitobans are that we’ve gotten here together.
“We’re optimistic but we need to be cautious at the same time.”
The virus’s latest victim is a woman in her 80s linked to an ongoing outbreak at the Convalescent Home in Winnipeg.
While vaccination efforts have seen more than 99,000 doses administered across the province, health officials have said two more-contagious variants of the virus have been identified in Manitoba over the last few weeks.
On Friday Roussin said another confirmed case of the B.1.1.7 variant of concern, first identified in the United Kingdom, has been identified in the province. The case is from the Winnipeg Health region and is related to travel, he said.
On Thursday the province warned of three possible public exposures to a probable B.1.1.7 variant, at two restaurants and a hair salon in Winnipeg over the weekend.
Manitoba has now reported 12 cases of B.1.1.7 as well as 11 cases of another variant of concern, the B.1.351 strain, first discovered in South Africa.
Friday’s new infections were identified across the province, with 51 reported in the Northern Health region, 37 reported in the Winnipeg Health region, five found in the Southern Health region, five cases were reported in the Prairie Mountain Health region, and six reported in the Interlake-Eastern Health region.
Manitoba’s active caseload dropped to 872 on Friday after Roussin said a review of the data removed 392 cases from the list of active cases.
Roussin said the province’s five-day test positivity rate is 4.1 per cent. The number is three per cent in Winnipeg, he added.
There are 154 people in hospital and 22 patients in ICU a result of COVID-19 as of Friday morning, Roussin said.
Meanwhile health officials have declared an outbreak at St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Sarto, Man.
Roussin said anyone who attended any events at the church on Feb. 21 should go for testing should they come down with any COVID-19 symptoms.
A previously declared outbreak has ended at Red River Place Personal Care Home in Selkirk, the province said.
Laboratory testing numbers show 2,195 tests for COVID-19 were done Thursday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since last February to 546,239.
Manitoba announced 91 new cases and three additional deaths from the virus on Thursday.
Vaccine update, public health orders tweaked
With numbers remaining much lower than the fall, Roussin said the province is easing a restriction for outdoor restaurant patios and will no longer require that only people from the same household sit together.
He said up to six people from different households will now be allowed to sit together on a patio.
The province is also tweaking the health orders to allow members of the same household to take off their masks while seated at a church service, provided they are sitting together, not singing, and appropriately distanced from other groups.
The changes to the orders will start Saturday. Current public health orders continue to be in effect until at least March 25, Roussin said.
On Friday the province expanded vaccine eligibility to include all congregate living workers aged 40 or older. Only workers aged 60 or older were previously eligible.
The moves comes a day after eligibility requirements opened up to include anyone working in an acute care facility, not just those who have direct contact with patients.
Age-based eligibility criteria for the general population remain the same, with those aged 80 or older and First Nation people aged 60 or older currently able to make an appointment for their shot.
Appointments slots are currently available at vaccination clinics in Winnipeg, Brandon, Thompson, Selkirk and Morden, the province said.
Appointments can be made by calling 1-844-626-8222 and the latest eligibility information is available on the province’s website.
Meanwhile the province says 18,000 doses of the newly-approved AstraZeneca vaccine have begun being shipped to nearly 200 medical clinics and pharmacies across the province. The vaccine will soon be made available to people aged 50 to 64 — or 30 to 64 for First Nations people — with certain health conditions.
A full list of the high-risk conditions being prioritized for the AstraZeneca shots is available on the province’s website.
An online map showing which locations have doses available launched this week. Those eligible can call clinics and pharmacies directly to make an appointment.
According to provincial data, Manitoba has so far received 159,220 doses of the three COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in Canada, or enough to give 12 per cent of its population a single dose.
The province said Friday it expects to receive 20,500 doses of the Moderna vaccine this week and 14,040 doses of the Pfizer vaccine next week.
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.
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