Manitoba reported 491 new COVID-19 cases and no additional deaths from the virus Friday, as modelling numbers show daily case counts and ICU numbers likely to rise in the coming weeks.
Dr. Jazz Atwal, the deputy chief public health officer, says the current spike in case numbers and hospitalization rates is being made worse by people not following the rules.
He says too many people are still gathering and interacting with others, despite public health orders that have been tightened three times in the last month.
Atwal released new modelling that suggests the daily number of new cases will likely rise for another week, and intensive care usage might rise for another four weeks.
Atwal says that is going to put a lot of stress on the health-care system.
Since March 2020, the province has reported 44,189 cases of COVID-19 after two previously announced cases were removed Friday due to what health officials say are data corrections.
The number of Manitobans with COVID-19 who have died remains at 1,002.
The latest infections include 328 cases in the Winnipeg Health region, 88 cases in the Southern Health region, 24 cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region, 10 cases in the Northern Health region, and 41 cases in the Interlake-Eastern Health region.
According to provincial health data 4,163 COVID-19 cases remain active in Manitoba.
The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 11.8 per cent provincially and 14.2 per cent in Winnipeg.
There are now 239 people in hospital as a result of novel coronavirus and 67 patients in ICU connected to the virus, according to provincial data.
According to a provincial online database keeping track of variants of concern, 401 new variant cases were confirmed Friday, bringing Manitoba’s total number of variant cases to 5,611.
Laboratory testing numbers show 3,719 tests were completed Thursday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 714,218.
Meanwhile, health officials said Friday Community Living disABILITY Services-funded day services for adults with intellectual disabilities will be suspended for two weeks in Winnipeg due to rising numbers. The changes start Monday and extend until May 28.
Some exceptions may be made where the safety of individuals cannot be managed in residential care or at home during the day, the province says.
The province reported 560 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, the third day with more than 500 cases this month, and the highest one-day total announced in Manitoba since the pandemic started.
The new case count comes one day after Manitoba hit 1,000 announced deaths on Wednesday.
–With files from The Canadian Press