Manitoba reports 3 COVID-19 deaths, jump in cases

Health officials say Manitoba saw an increase in COVID-19 deaths, cases and ICU admissions linked to the virus last week.

The province’s latest epidemiology update, which covers July 17 to July 23, reports 242 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 infections and 45 new hospitalizations — eight of which required intensive care.

In the previous week 171 new cases were announced. There were also 52 hospitalizations reported last week, including two admitted to ICU.

The number of people currently in hospital and ICU as a result of COVID-19 isn’t clear, because the province no longer reports those numbers.

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Officials say three Manitobans with COVID-19 died during the time covered in the latest report.

There were two COVID-19-related deaths reported in the previous week’s epidemiology update.

While three deaths were reported in the latest update, Manitoba’s COVID-19 death toll since March 2020 rose five from last week to 2,061

The province has told Global News the number of deaths can fluctuate week to week as previous cases are confirmed or removed from the list.

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With an average of 269 tests completed a day, Manitoba’s positivity rate of lab tests rose to 17.1 per cent from 13.9 per cent the previous week.

Provincial case counts and test positivity rates don’t necessarily give an accurate picture of active infection rates, however, 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 four new outbreaks at long-term care homes last week, including Fairview Personal Care Home and Rideau Park Personal Care Home in Brandon, Hartney Personal Care Home in Hartney, and Charleswood Care Centre in Winnipeg.

There was also one new hospital outbreak reported at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg.

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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.