COVID-19: Manitoba reports 88 new cases, 1 death

Another Manitoban with COVID-19 has died and health official say 88 more people have been infected with the virus.

The latest cases reported on the province’s online dashboard Friday bring Manitoba’s active case count to 629 including 390 confirmed to be more contagious variants of concern.

The dashboard also shows Manitoba’s COVID-19 death toll increased by one Friday to 1,204.

Of Manitoba’s active cases, health data shows 57 per cent of those infected have not been vaccinated and 14 per cent are partially vaccinated.

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The data shows 73 per cent of the 72 Manitobans currently in hospital as a result of the virus have not been vaccinated, nor have 86 per cent of the 13 patients in ICU due to COVID-19.

Manitoba’s five-day test positivity rate sits at 2.6 per cent as of Friday morning.

Meanwhile, a provincial site tracking variants shows Manitoba currently has 16 active Alpha cases, 43 active Delta infections, and 331 active cases which have yet to be specified.

Since the first variant cases were found in Manitoba in mid-February the province has reported 18,134 cases and 201 deaths linked to the more contagious strains.

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As of Friday morning, 84.1 per cent of eligible Manitobans have received at least one shot of vaccine and 79.2 per cent have received two doses, according to a provincial site tracking vaccinations.

According to the site, 1,724 vaccination appointments are scheduled across the province Friday.

On Thursday, Manitoba reported 64 new cases and two deaths connected to the virus.

Since March 2020, Manitoba has seen a total of 59,612 lab-confirmed 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.