Manitoba reports 6 COVID deaths, 58 hospitalizations

Manitoba health officials say six more people with COVID-19 died last week and 58 others needed to be hospitalized as a result of the virus.

The province’s latest epidemiology update, which covers June 12 through 19, shows a continued decline in hospitalization rates due to COVID-19.

Between June 5 and June 11, officials said 80 Manitobans were hospitalized as a result of the virus, including 14 of whom went into intensive care.

The number of deaths reported in this week’s report, however, saw an increase over the three announced the previous week.

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But Manitoba’s total COVID-19 deaths recorded since March 2020 rose to 2,025 in the latest report — an increase of 10 over the previous week.

The government has told Global News the number of deaths fluctuates as previous cases are confirmed or removed from the list.

Of the 58 new hospitalizations, officials said eight were admitted to an ICU.

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

Meanwhile, the province says 203 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported last week, a drop from 228 the week before.

With an average of 340 tests completed a day, the positivity rate of lab tests rose to 11.3 per cent from 9.6 per cent the previous week.

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

Officials said there were no new outbreaks at long-term care homes between June 12 and June 19, but one new outbreak was reported at the Victoria Hospital in Winnipeg.

On Wednesday, Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said she has contracted COVID-19.

In a tweet, the premier said she has “minor symptoms” and is self-isolating while working from home.

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.