Health officials announced 25 new cases and one additional death linked to the virus Tuesday.
Data collected by Global News shows the province hasn’t seen a lower daily case count since 24 new cases were reported Sept. 22. The province reported 31 new cases and one death Monday.
The latest Manitoban to fall victim to COVID-19 is a man in his 40s from the Winnipeg Health region. In a release health officials say he had been sickened with the Alpha variant, first identified in the United Kingdom.
Tuesday’s new cases include 13 found in the Winnipeg Health region, seven reported in the Southern Health region, four found in the Northern Health region, and one found in the Prairie Mountain Health region. No new cases were reported in the Interlake-Eastern Health region.
The five-day test positivity rate is 4.5 per cent provincially and four per cent in Winnipeg.
Health officials say 972 tests for COVID-19 were completed Monday.
Meanwhile hospitalization rates continue to fall.
There are currently 133 Manitobans in hospital as a result of COVID-19, down from 138 reported Monday. The latest hospitalization numbers include 32 in Manitoba ICUs and two receiving critical care out of province.
Since March 2020 Manitoba has reported 56,943 COVID-19 cases after two previously announced cases were removed due to data corrections.
Manitoba’s COVID-19 death toll now sits at 1,163.
Alpha variant continues to dominate
The Alpha variant continues to be the most dominant variant of concern in Manitoba, according to a provincial website tracking the more-contagious strains.
Of the province’s 982 active COVID-19 cases 630 are variants, and of those, 405 are the Alpha strain, according to the site.
Another 197 active variant cases have yet to be specified, according to the site, and 23 active cases are the Delta strain, first identified in India.
In all Manitoba has reported 16,078 variant cases including 7,041 Alpha cases, 73 cases of the Beta variant, which first emerged in South Africa, 226 cases of the Gamma variant, first detected in Brazil, and 421 cases of the Delta strain, first identified in India.
Another 8,317 variant cases are listed as as yet unspecified on the province’s site.
A total of 168 COVID-19 deaths in Manitoba have been linked to variants.
On Monday Manitoba’s chief public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin said getting vaccinated can help prevent the spread of variants in Manitoba.
Roussin said 74 per cent of the 412 people hospitalized due to COVID-19 in June had not received a shot of vaccine, and 22 per cent had one dose.
He said 90 of the 412 COVID-19 patients hospitalized last month ended up in ICU, and of those, 77 per cent had no vaccine dose and three per cent had one shot.
As of Tuesday 76.5 per cent of eligible Manitobans have received one shot of vaccine and 57.8 per cent have received two doses, according to a provincial website tracking vaccinations.
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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