Man in his 20s among Manitoba’s latest COVID-19 deaths, 69 new cases reported

Manitoba health officials say a man in his 20s is among the province’s latest COVID-19 victims.

In a release Tuesday the province reported four new deaths linked to the virus, including the man in his 20s from the Interlake-Eastern Health region linked to the Alpha variant, first identified in the United Kingdom.

The other deaths include a man in his 60s from the Southern Health region linked to the Alpha strain, and two women both in their 70s from the Winnipeg Health region. Health officials say one of the woman had been stricken with the Alpha strain, and the other’s death is linked to an unspecified variant.

Meanwhile Manitoba reported 69 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, the third consecutive day the daily case count has fallen below 100. Seven cases were later removed due to data correction, bringing the net-new cases on Tuesday to 62.

0:24 Manitoba COVID-19 numbers – June 22

The latest cases include 33 in the Winnipeg Health region, 16 cases in the Southern Health region, 15 infections in the Northern Health region, four cases in the Interlake Health region, and one in the Prairie Mountain Health region.

The five-day test positivity rate is currently 7.6 provincially and 6.6 per cent in Winnipeg.

New case numbers have been steadily dropping in recent days after a delayed third wave put significant pressure on the health-care system and prompted strict public health orders last month.

There were still 224 Manitobans hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday morning, including 14 who are in intensive care units in other provinces.

Since March 2020, Manitoba has reported 55,467 COVID-19 cases and 1,129 Mantiobans with the virus have died.

–With files from The Canadian Press

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.

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