Another three Manitobans with COVID-19 have died and health officials are reporting 130 new infections, amid rising case counts in southern Manitoba.
Just shy of half of the new cases — 64 infections — were reported out of Southern Health region, where vaccine uptake has been significantly lower than the rest of the province.
Another 12 cases were reported in the Northern Health region, 35 by the Winnipeg Health region, 11 in the Prairie Mountain Health region, and eight in the Interlake-Eastern Health region.
According to provincial data, 80 of Manitoba’s latest infections are among people yet to be vaccinated. Seven were partially vaccinated and 43 were fully vaccinated.
The number of deaths reported on the province’s COVID-19 dashboard rose by three to 1,256 Friday.
There were 118 people in hospital as a result of COVID-19 Friday morning, up three from the day before. The number of patients in intensive care due to COVID-19 remains at 24.
With 50 people in hospital and 14 in ICU from Southern Health, the region continues to have the highest hospitalization rates despite making up just 15 per cent of Manitoba’s population.
Just over 68 per cent of those eligible in Southern Health have been immunized, compared to province-wide with 87.1 per cent of the eligible population having at least one dose.
At last word Thursday the five-day test positivity rate in Southern Health district was 14.5 per cent. Province wide the rate was 4.7 Friday.
The latest cases bring the total number of active lab-confirmed infections reported in Manitoba to 1,147.
Meanwhile, a provincial site tracking variants shows Manitoba currently has 561 active variant cases, including two active Alpha cases, eight active Delta infections and 551 unspecified cases.
Since the first variant cases were first found in Manitoba in mid-February, the province has reported 21,335 cases and 245 deaths linked to the more contagious strains.
In all, Manitoba has now reported 64,209 COVID-19 cases since March 2020.
Health officials reported 154 new cases and two deaths Thursday, the largest single-day jump in new infections reported in Manitoba since June.
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 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.