Manitoba health officials say two more people with COVID-19 have died and 124 new infections have been found across the province.
There are now 1,383 active, lab-confirmed cases of the virus in Manitoba and the province’s five-day test positivity rate is 5.2 per cent.
Since March 2020, Manitoba has reported 67,999 cases of COVID-19 and 1,321 deaths linked to the virus.
At a media availability Wednesday, chief public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin said there has still been no cases of the the new COVID-19 Omicron variant found in Manitoba.
Wednesday’s press conference comes less than a week after World Health Organization (WHO) officials warned of the the new variant.
Officials have said the heavily mutated strain of COVID-19 is likely to spread internationally and poses a “very high” risk of infection surges that could have “severe consequences” in some places.
As of Tuesday, Canada had confirmed seven cases of the Omicron variant: four in Ontario, and one each in Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia.
Canada has restricted travel from several African countries due to the variant and is seeking guidance on COVID-19 boosters amid its emergence.
Roussin said Wednesday there are currently 24 people who recently travelled back to Manitoba from the countries who are now isolating.
Omicron is the fifth and latest variant of concern designated by the WHO.
This variant is more heavily mutated than the other variants of concern, containing at least 30 mutations, which scientists fear might help it spread easily or even evade antibodies from prior infection or vaccination.
Majority of latest cases, deaths from Southern Health
Health data show a majority of Wednesday’s new cases — 48 infections — came from the Southern Health region, where vaccination levels lag behind the rest of the province.
Another 31 cases reported Wednesday come from the Winnipeg Health region, 20 were found in the Prairie Mountain Health region, four were reported in the Northern Health region and 21 were found in the Interlake-Eastern Health region.
Despite making up roughly 15 per cent of Manitoba’s total population, the southern health district has been leading the province’s new COVID-19 case counts for weeks.
More than a third of Manitoba’s COVID-19 hospitalizations and well over half of the patients in ICU as a result of COVID-19 are from Southern Manitoba, according to health data.
Four of the six deaths linked with COVID-19 in the last two days are also from the Southern Health region.
Health data release Wednesday show Manitoba’s latest COVID-19 victims include:
- a man in his 40s from the Northern health region (reported Tuesday);
- a man in his 60s from the Southern Health (reported Tuesday);
- a man in his 70s from the Southern Health (reported Tuesday);
- a man in his 80s from the Southern Health, linked to the outbreak at Third Crossing Manor (reported Tuesday);
- a man in his 90s from the Southern Health, linked to the outbreak at Third Manor Crossing (reported Wednesday); and
- a man in his 90s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at Grace Hospital (4 North), Surgery Unit (reported Wednesday).
Southern health reached 70 per cent vaccine uptake Wednesday, while across the province, nearly 88 per cent of Manitobans born before Dec. 31, 2009, have received at least one shot of vaccine.
Data released in mid-November showed the five-day test positivity rate in the Southern Health region to be nearly three times that of the provincial rate and Roussin said Wednesday the rates have remained stable in the area.
Despite the high case counts and test-positivity numbers coming from the south, Roussin said Wednesday officials have no immediate plans to put further health restrictions in place in the area.
He said the province is instead focusing on improving vaccination rates in the region.
Health data shows 63 of the 124 new cases Wednesday are among people who had yet to be vaccinated, six were partially vaccinated and 55 had been fully vaccinated.
Dr. Joss Reimer, who heads up the province’s vaccine implementation task force said efforts to vaccinated kids aged five-11 started last week have so far seen 14,101 first doses given to children in the age group.
That means as of Wednesday 80.5 per cent of eligible Manitobans aged five and up have received at least one dose and 77.1 have received two doses, she added.
Meanwhile, there were 143 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 reported as of Wednesday morning and 24 patients in intensive care units as a result of the virus.
Officials announced a new outbreak Wednesday at Selkirk Regional Health Centre, medicine unit, in Selkirk, and say outbreaks have ended at:
- Portage District General Hospital, Medical Unit;
- Neepawa Health Centre;
- Ralph Maybank School, Grade 5/6 class, Winnipeg; and
- École Sacré-Coeur, Grade 2 class, Winnipeg.
The latest information on Manitoba’s enforcement of COVID-19 public health orders shows 87 warnings and 17 tickets were given out between Nov. 22 and 28.
Four tickets worth $1,296 went to individuals, 11 $298 tickets for not wearing a mask were handed out, and two people were fined $8,550 under the federal quarantine act.
Manitoba reported 128 new cases and four additional deaths linked to COVID-19 Tuesday.
— with files from Saba Aziz
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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