Unvaccinated make up majority of Manitoba’s 31 new COVID-19 cases, officials say

Manitoba health officials reported 31 new cases of COVID-19 Friday and say the unvaccinated make up the vast majority of the new infections.

Twenty-six of the new cases were unvaccinated, officials said, including 13 of the 14 cases reported from the Southern Health region, where vaccination rates have been much lower than the rest of the province.

While vaccination numbers province-wide show nearly 82 per cent of those eligible have gotten at least one dose, vaccination uptake in the Southern Health district sits at 62.5 per cent, according to a provincial site tracking the shots.

Nine of Friday’s new cases were reported in the Winnipeg Health region, four were found in the Northern Health region, and two each were found in the Prairie Mountain and Interlake-Eastern Health regions.

1:48 Manitoba requiring indoor masks in public spaces, full COVID-19 vaccination in some settings

There are now 430 active COVID-19 cases, including 244 confirmed to be more-contagious variants of concern.

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The number of COVID-19 deaths reported on the province’s website remained at 1,889 Friday.

Meanwhile provincial health data shows there are 65 people in hospital, 21 of whom are in ICU, as a result of COVID-19.

The provincial test positivity rate remained unchanged from Thursday, at 2.8 per cent.

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

Since March 2020 Manitoba has reported 58,506 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19.

On Friday Manitoba announced new public health orders that will allow only the fully vaccinated to go to restaurants, bars, bingo halls and sporting events starting Sept. 3.

Under the changes all front-line provincial employees who work with vulnerable populations must be fully vaccinated or get regular testing.

The province previously announced it was bringing back a mask mandate for indoor public places, including schools, starting Saturday.

–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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