Manitoba saw a large increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases this week, but the same jump wasn’t seen in other metrics.
Some 1,436 new cases were reported in the province’s latest epidemiological report — up 20 per cent from the week before.
Provincial case counts no longer necessarily give an accurate picture of active infection rates because they don’t include positive tests done at home and the government has significantly scaled back provincial testing.
Indicators of severe outcomes, like new hospitalizations (up four to 188) and ICU admissions (down 10 to 12) didn’t follow the same pattern.
Thirteen more Manitobans were reported as casualties to the virus that’s now killed 1,792 in the province since March 2020.
Manitoba’s ICUs continue to deal with roughly 90 people at a time, a number that’s been largely unchanged for months.
However, admissions are still up significantly compared to a month ago, when 111 were reported at the end of March.
The latest wastewater data from the province shows “ongoing activity of COVID-19, with a generalized stabilization in activity,” according to the report.
More protection on the horizon?
Meanwhile, one of the province’s foremost voices on COVID-19 vaccination expressed some hope in response to the news that Moderna is asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to review its vaccine for use in children under the age of six.
Dr. Joss Reimer, who’s now the chief medical officer of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, hopes the same thing happens north of the border soon.
Moderna hopes to submit its vaccine candidate for children under six to Health Canada soon, the company told Global News this week.