The deaths of two more Manitobans with COVID-19 have been linked to variants of concern, and 116 more people have been infected with the virus.
The latest victims include a woman in her 90s linked to an unspecified variant and an outbreak at Carman Memorial Hospital, and a man in his 90s from the Winnipeg Health region connected to the Alpha variant, first identified in the United Kingdom.
Of the 1,104 Manitobans with COVID-19 who have died since March 2020, 114 have been linked to the more-contagious variants.
As of Tuesday Manitoba has reported 13,882 variant cases, a jump of 279 cases since the numbers were last updated Saturday.
The Alpha strain remains the most dominant variant in Manitoba, with 6,037 confirmed cases, according to a provincial website tracking the strains.
The province has also recorded 45 cases of the Beta variant, which first emerged in South Africa, 166 cases of the Gamma variant, first detected in Brazil, and 101 cases of the Delta strain, first identified in India.
Another 7,533 variant cases are as yet unspecified, according to the site.
Of the province’s 2,972 active COVID-19 cases, more than half — 1,756 infections — are confirmed to be variants of concern.
Tuesday marks the third day in a row Manitoba has seen a daily case count less than 200. It’s also the lowest list of daily infections announced since mid-April.
Of the new cases, the largest number — 55 — are in the Winnipeg health region, with 23 in the Northern health region, 28 in Southern Health region, seven in the Prairie Mountain region, and three in the Interlake-Eastern region.
The five-day test positivity rate is 10.6 per cent provincially and 9.9 per cent in Winnipeg.
Health officials say 1,532 tests for COVID-19 were completed Monday.
Another 3 patients die in care out of province
In a statement to Global News, Shared Health said three more Manitoba COVID-19 patients have died in hospitals out of province.
All three victims were being treated in hospital in Ontario and they include a man in his 60s transferred May 30, a man in his 60s transferred May 25, and a woman in her 50s sent to Ontario hospital May 18.
Seven Manitobans with COVID-19 have now died in care outside the province.
Manitoba has been sending ICU patients to hospitals in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta since May 18 due to a lack of critical care space here.
The number of Manitobans with COVID-19 in hospital fell to 290 as of Tuesday morning, seven fewer than were reported Monday.
But that number includes 24 critically ill COVID-19 patients receiving care out of province.
Another 63 COVID-19 patients are currently in Manitoba ICUs, according to provincial health data.
Since the first patient was sent to Ontario for care, 26 have been returned to Manitoba hospitals.
Meanwhile, health officials say an outbreak at Grace Hospital, 3 South, in Winnipeg, has ended.
Manitoba announced 124 new cases and two additional deaths from the virus on Monday. Manitoba has reported a total of 54,596 cases of COVID-19.
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.