Three Manitoba schools see COVID-19 variant cases of concern, says province

People in three Manitoba schools have been exposed to COVID-19 variants of concern, say health officials.

Dr. Jazz Atwal, the acting deputy chief provincial public health officer, said the cases were close contacts of other cases.

The schools include OV Jewitt Community School in Winnipeg, Ecole Tache in Winnipeg, and Pine Ridge Elementary in Winkler.

Atwal noted that when the numbers are released daily, cases that are “variants of concern” are not included in the new cases totals announced every day.

It takes a few days for laboratories to genetically sequence the virus, said Atwal, so variant cases may be days or even weeks old.

As the spring moves into Manitoba and people get ready for Easter and other breaks, Atwal reminded Manitobans to keep their distance, wash their hands, wear masks and follow all public health orders around gatherings.

“I know this is not how we wanted to spend spring break, or celebrate the holidays,” said Atwal. “This is not forever, but it is what we need to do right now.”

COVID-19 cases

The province announced Friday a man in his 30s from the Northern health region has died from COVID-19.

In Manitoba, the test positivity rate is 4.7 per cent, and in Winnipeg, it’s 3.5 per cent. On Friday, 93 new cases were identified, while two cases were removed due to a data correction, said the province.

• one case in the Interlake–Eastern health region;
• 29 cases in the Northern health region;
• 14 cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region;
• 10 cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region; and
• 39 cases in the Winnipeg health region

The total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba to 33,176.

The total number of people who have recovered is at least 31,130.

Vaccine update

1:19 Dr. Brent Roussin and MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee get COVID-19 Vaccination

People aged 69 and older, and First Nations people aged 49 and over can now get the vaccine.

To find out how to do so, head to our page with all the information.

The province says 123,144 doses of vaccine have been given out, including 83,641 first doses and 39,503 second doses so far.

• In the meantime, 193,760 doses of vaccine have been delivered to Manitoba. This includes:
• 126,360 doses of Pfizer vaccine;
• 49,400 doses of the Moderna vaccine; and
• 18,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Covishield vaccine.

THis past week, teams visited more than 70 congregate living facilities with about 3,600 beds to give out first doses. Another 100 will be visited next week.

Also next week, Manitoba should get 42,120 doses of Pfizer and 40,600 doses of Moderna vaccines.

On Thursday, Chief Provincial Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin and Premier Brian Pallister said they are considering moving the province to code orange.

While COVID-19 cases have risen slowly over the past two weeks, hospitalizations are well under capacity despite two variants of concern being found circulating in the province.

The province has posted a survey at engagemb.ca to gather Manitobans’ opinions on loosening restrictions further.