Another 218 new COVID-19 infections have been reported in Manitoba.
The latest cases announced on the province’s online COVID-19 portal Tuesday bring the province’s total number of cases reported since March 2020 to 38,025, and of those, health officials say 2,173 cases remain active.
There were no new deaths connected to the virus reported Tuesday, leaving the province’s COVID-19-related death toll at 968.
Of the new infections, 156 were reported in the Winnipeg Health region, 30 were found in the Prairie Mountain Health region, 15 came from the Southern Health region, 12 were found in the Northern Health region, and five were reported from the Interlake-Eastern Health region.
The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 7.5 per cent provincially and 8.4 per cent in Winnipeg.
Numbers on hospitalizations due to COVID-19 were not provided by the province Tuesday due to what the government says are issues with provincial data systems.
At last report Monday there were 148 people in hospital as a result of the novel coronavirus and 37 patients in intensive care connected to the virus.
332 new variants of concern cases
A provincial online database keeping track of variants of concern, normally updated Tuesday through Saturday, shows 332 new variants have been confirmed in Manitoba since the page was last updated Saturday.
The new cases bring the number of variant infections identified in Manitoba since February to 1,641, of which, 687 were listed as active as of Tuesday morning.
The deaths of four Manitobans with COVID-19 have so far been linked to the more contagious variants of concern.
The vast majority of Manitoba’s confirmed variant cases — 1,043 — have been the B.1.1.7 strain first identified in the United Kingdom. The data shows 287 of the province’s active variant cases are the B.1.1.7 strain, while the remaining 400 active cases are yet to be identified.
Manitoba has also recorded 20 cases linked to the B.1.351 variant first found in South Africa, and seven cases of the COVID-19 P.1 variant, first identified in Brazil.
All of the confirmed B.1.351 and P.1 cases have since recovered, provincial data shows.
Meanwhile, health officials say an outbreak has been declared at École Marie-Anne-Gaboury in Winnipeg. The school has moved to remote learning until May 7.
An outbreak has also been declared at Swan Valley Lodge Personal Care Home in Swan River.
Laboratory testing numbers show 2,806 tests were completed Monday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 649,827.
Manitoba announced 210 new cases and one additional death from the virus on Monday.
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.