There are 208 new COVID-19 cases in Manitoba on Thursday and 12 more people have died from the illness, the province says.
The latest deaths include a Northern Health Region man in his 30s and six deaths linked to outbreaks across the province, a news release says.
Manitoba’s five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is down to 9.9 per cent, the first time that figure has dipped below 10 per cent since Nov. 9. In Winnipeg, the rate is 10.5 per cent, the release says.
The latest update comes one day before the expiration of the province’s current public health orders, which ban most gatherings and the sale of non-essential items. Those rules expire at 11:59 p.m. on Friday.
But on a conference call with reporters on Thursday, acting deputy chief provincial public health officer Dr. Jazz Atwal said the specifics of what will replace those restrictions are still being discussed — though there’s no indication any rules will be lifted.
Atwal said those details are likely to be revealed on Friday.
Facilities with deaths announced Thursday are a woman in her 90s from Brandon’s Fairview Personal Care Home, and in Winnipeg, a woman in her 60s from the Convalescent Home of Winnipeg, a woman in her 80s from Concordia Personal Care Home, a woman in her 80s from the River East Personal Care Home, a man in his 90s from the Charleswood Care Centre and a woman in her 90s from Bethania Mennonite Personal Care Home, the release says.
The latest deaths, which bring Manitoba’s total to 717, also include a Prairie Mountain Health man in his 60s, a Southern Health woman in her 60s and three women, in their 50s, 70s and 80s, in the Winnipeg health region.
A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared at the McCreary/Alonsa Health Centre in McCreary, Man., the release says.
The outbreak at Winnipeg’s Seine River Retirement Home is now over.
About half the new cases announced Thursday (105) are in the Winnipeg health region, while just under one-third (60) are in the Northern Health Region, the release says. The remaining new cases are split between the Prairie Mountain Health and Southern Health regions (17 each) and the Interlake-Eastern health region (nine).
There were 2,132 COVID-19 tests done in Manitoba on Wednesday, the release says. That’s the highest number done in a single day since numbers were announced after Christmas on Dec. 27.
Those tests bring the total number done in the province to 432,839.
Seven previously announced COVID-19 cases were removed from Manitoba’s totals on Thursday, the release says, bringing the total number identified in the province to 25,742.
Sites where there have been possible COVID-19 exposures in Manitoba are listed by region on the province’s website.
There are now 319 COVID-19 patients in hospital, including 228 who are still infectious, the release says. Of those people, 35 are in intensive care (including 31 still infectious).
There are also 26 COVID-19 patients on ventilators, including 23 whose cases are still considered active, Shared Health Chief Nursing Officer Lanette Siragusa said on the conference call.
To date, 20,519 people in Manitoba have been deemed to have recovered from COVID-19, and 4,506 cases are still considered active — though health officials say that number is still inflated by a data entry backlog.
All-season shelters at all Manitoba’s 125 personal care homes will soon be ready to use, the release says. While the province remains at the critical red pandemic response level, the shelters will be used to allow one person to visit a care home resident at a time.
Sites that don’t have those shelters have identified spaces for visits with similar pandemic precautions in place, the release says. Masks will be required, physical distancing has to be maintained and visitors will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms or exposures.
All visits will be by appointment only, with more details coming from each care home in the coming days, the release says.
