Man in his 20s Manitoba’s latest COVID-19 victim, health officials say

A man in his 20s is Manitoba’s latest victim of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health officials say the man was from the Interlake-Eastern Health region, and his death brings the province’s COVID-19 death toll to 1,189.

Meanwhile, Manitoba reported 56 new infections of the virus Thursday, after 105 new cases were announced Wednesday.

As has been the case in recent days, the majority of the new infections — 22 cases — were reported in the Southern Health region, where vaccination uptake trails the rest of the province.

Another 18 new cases were found in the Winnipeg Health region, 10 were reported in the Northern Health region, and three were found in both the Interlake-Eastern and Prairie Mountain Health districts.

1:37 Manitoba reports more than 100 new COVID-19 cases

The five-day test positivity rate is 2.8 per cent provincially and 1.5 per cent in Winnipeg.

As of Thursday morning, Manitoba has 443 active COVID-19 cases, including 224 confirmed to be more contagious variants of concern.

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Of Manitoba’s active variants, 43 are the Alpha strain, 14 are the Delta variant, and 166 variant cases have yet to be specified.

1:20 COVID-19 controlled in Manitoba for now, but cases could skyrocket without intervention: Health officials

The province also has one active case of the Delta Plus strain, according to a provincial site tracking variant cases.

There are now 65 Manitobans hospitalized and 21 patients are in intensive care units as a result of COVID-19, according to a release from the province.

Health officials say a new outbreak has been declared at George M. Guimond Care Centre in Sagkeeng First Nation while a previously declared outbreak at Selkirk Regional Health Centre’s surgical unit has ended.

Since March 2020 Manitoba has now reported 58,479 COVID-19 cases.

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.