Manitoba’s COVID-19 death toll surpasses 2,000

More than 2,000 Manitobans with COVID-19 have died since the province’s first cases were identified more than two years ago.

The grim milestone was confirmed Thursday in the province’s weekly epidemiology update, which reports seven more deaths linked to the virus last week.

The number of COVID-19 victims reported in Manitoba since March 2020 rose to 2,004, an additional 24 deaths than had been reported a week earlier.

Health officials have told Global News the province’s total death count can differ from weekly numbers as previous cases are confirmed or removed from the list.

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The province no longer releases information about COVID-19-related deaths, including age, gender and health region.

The latest report, which covers May 29 – June 4, shows a decline in new COVID-19 hospitalizations compared to the previous week.

The data shows 100 people were admitted to hospital as a result of the virus last week, including seven in intensive care units.

There were 120 COVID-19 hospitalizations including nine requiring ICU reported May 22-28.

It is not known exactly how many people are currently in hospital or ICU as a result of COVID-19 because the province no longer reports those numbers.

Meanwhile, the province says 337 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported last week, a drop from 416 the week before.

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With an average of 624 tests completed a day, the positivity rate of lab tests fell to 10.8 per cent from 13 per cent the previous week.

Provincial case counts no longer necessarily give an accurate picture of active infection rates though, because the government has significantly scaled back testing and the data doesn’t include the results of tests done at home.

Officials said three new outbreaks were reported at long-term care homes between May 29 and June 4.

There was also a new outbreak reported at the Concordia Hospital in Winnipeg.

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 may be mandatory in indoor public spaces.

For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, visit our coronavirus page.