With the deaths of three more Manitobans linked to COVID-19, the province hit a dark milestone Wednesday: 1,000 deaths connected to the virus that’s ravaged the world for more than year.
The latest victims are a woman in her 50s from the Prairie Mountain Health region, a man in his 60s from the Winnipeg Health region, and a man in his 70s from the Interlake-Eastern Health region, and health officials all three deaths are linked to variants of concern.
Both the woman from the Prairie Mountain region and the man from the Winnipeg area were stricken with the B.1.1.7 strain, first identified in the United Kingdom. The man from the Interlake-Eastern area had been infected by an as of yet unspecified variant, health official said.
Their deaths are the 25th, 26th, and 27th connected to a variant of concern in Manitoba.
Meanwhile Manitoba added 211 new variant of concern cases to a list of the more-contagious strains recorded on an online provincial portal Wednesday. The latest cases bring the province’s total number of variants reported since February to 4,822.
According to the site, 1,828 variant cases remain active, including 739 cases of the B.1.1.7 strain, eight cases of the P.1 variant, first identified in Brazil, and 1,081 listed as unspecified.
In all, Manitoba has reported 2,614 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, 21 cases of the B.1.351 variant (all recovered), 36 cases of the P.1 variant, and 2,151 that are as of yet unspecified.
Manitoba has also recorded four cases of the B.1.617, variant first detected in India, health officials have previously said.
Health officials also said 364 new COVID-19 infections had been identified as of Wednesday morning, bringing the province’s total number of cases reported since March 2020 to 43,143.
As of Wednesday the five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 12.1 per cent provincially and 14.4 per cent in Winnipeg.
All corners of the province saw new cases Wednesday, with 223 infections reported in the Winnipeg Health region, 50 cases reported in the Interlake-Eastern Health region, 47 cases found in the Southern Health region, 34 new infections reported in the Prairie Mountain Health region, and 10 cases reported in the Northern Health region.
Provincial health data shows 3,940 cases remain active, and, in all, 38,203 Manitobans have recovered from COVID-19.
There are now 221 people in hospital as a result of novel coronavirus and 62 patients in ICU connected to the virus, according to provincial data.
A new outbreak has been declared at St. Norbert Personal Care Home in St. Norbert, according to a release from the province.
Laboratory testing numbers show 3,567 tests were completed Tuesday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 705,377.
Manitoba announced 329 new cases and no deaths from the virus on Tuesday.
The latest COVID-19 numbers come as the province moved ahead with plans to move all kindergarten to Grade 12 schools in Winnipeg and Brandon to remote learning Wednesday.
The move, meant to curb rising case numbers in Manitoba, will remain in effect until at least May 30, health officials have said.
Wednesday also saw the province open up COVID-19 vaccine eligibility at pop-up clinics and supersites to all Manitobans 18 and over who want a shot.
Vaccination appointments can be made by calling 1-844-626-8222 (1-844-MAN-VACC) or visiting the province’s website.
As of Wednesday, nearly 50 per cent of adult Manitobans have been vaccinated, said Vaccine Task Force co-lead Dr. Johanu Botha.
The province says it hopes to have 70 per cent of people aged 12 and older in Manitoba with their first immunization by June 6.
–With files from Elisha Dacey
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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