Another six Manitobans with COVID-19 have died and health officials say 267 more people have fallen ill with the virus.
Four of the latest deaths are connected to variants of concern, health officials say, and they bring the province’s COVID-19 death toll to 1,062.
The latest victims include:
- a woman in her 60s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region;
- a woman in her 70s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the B.1.1.7 variant of concern;
- a woman in her 80s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region, linked to the unspecified variant of concern;
- a woman in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region;
- a man in his 90s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region, linked to the B.1.1.7 variant of concern; and
- a woman in her 90s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the B.1.1.7 variant of concern
Since March 2020, Manitoba has now reported 51,580 confirmed cases of COVID-19, after health officials say three previous cases were removed due to data corrections.
The five-day test-positivity rate has dropped again to 11.5 per cent provincially and 12.9 per cent in Winnipeg.
There are currently 4,267 active cases of COVID-19 across Manitoba, according to provincial health data.
There are now 294 people in hospital as a result of novel coronavirus and 69 patients in Manitoba ICUs connected to the virus, according to provincial data. In all health officials said there were 127 patients in Manitoba ICUs as of Wednesday morning.
Manitoba’s ICU numbers don’t include dozens of critically ill COVID-19 patients who have had to be transferred out of province for care in recent weeks due to capacity issues.
As of Wednesday 48 COVID-19 ICU patients from Manitoba have been sent to facilities across Ontario and two in Saskatchewan.
Shared Health said Wednesday a Manitoba patient sent to Ontario for care May 20, a man in his 30s, has since died in care in that province.
Seven Manitoba patients sent for care out of province have since returned to hospital in this province, Shared Health said.
On Wednesday Alberta health services confirmed it has extended an offer of critical care assistance to Manitoba as the province deals with its third wave.
Up to 10 patients requiring intensive care will be transferred to Alberta to be cared for in Edmonton and Calgary that province said.
Meanwhile, Manitoba health officials said more provincial health facilities have declared COVID-19 outbreaks.
On Wednesday they added Seven Oaks General Hospital, 3U7 and the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre in Winnipeg to the list of outbreak sites.
More than half of Manitoba’s active COVID-19 cases — 2,442 infections — are listed as variants of concern (VOC) on a provincial website tracking the more contagious strains.
Health officials say they will no longer be specifically notifying Manitobans who test positive for COVID-19 if their test screen positive for a VOC, but information on the cases will still be posted to the provincial website.
According to the site, 115 new variant cases were confirmed in Manitoba as of Wednesday morning, bringing the total number of VOC cases reported in the province since February to 11,319. The deaths of 77 Manitobans has been linked to variants.
Manitoba has recorded 5,020 B.1.1.7 cases, 35 cases of the B.1.351 variant first found in South Africa, 18 cases of the B.1.617 variant first detected in India and its sub-lineages, and 110 cases of the P.1 variant first identified in Brazil.
Another 6,136 of Manitoba’s VOC cases are listed as unspecified.
Laboratory testing numbers show 2,646 tests were completed Tuesday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 775,237.
Manitoba announced 232new cases and three additional deaths from the virus on Tuesday.
A list of potential exposures can be found on the government’s website.
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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