Manitoba reported a single day drop in new COVID-19 infections Sunday with 58 cases detected provincewide as test-positivity rates remained stable around five per cent.
In Winnipeg, public health officials said 24 new infections had been detected as of 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Meanwhile the Northern health region rivalled the capital city, reporting 25 new infections.
Southern Health added five new cases and Interlake-Eastern notched four. No new cases were detected in Prairie Mountain.
No new cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, also known as the U.K. variant, have been found in Manitoba. As of Sunday, four such variants of concern cases have been identified in the province and have all been connected to travel outside of Canada.
Public health officials also reported the deaths of two more Manitobans who contracted COVID-19: a man in his 70s connected to the outbreak at Heritage Life Personal Care Home in Niverville and a Winnipeg woman in her 80s.
Since the pandemic began, 884 Manitobans have died from COVID-19.
Provincewide, the five-day test positivity rate declined to 5.3 per cent after climbing to six per cent last week. Within Winnipeg, the test-positivity rate was 4.1 per cent. A total of 2,024 COVID-19 swabs were processed at laboratories on Saturday.
More than a week after the province rolled back some pandemic restrictions, Winnipeg is reporting a seven day average of 35 new daily infections with test positivity rates in the capital city holding steady below five per cent.
The World Health Organization recommends the test positivity rate be below five per cent for two weeks before governments move forward with further reopenings.
On Feb. 12, public health officials loosened COVID-19 prevention measures across Manitoba, allowing restaurants to host household members for dine-in while some gyms and fitness facilities reopened with capacity limits, among other reopenings. The current public health order is in effect until March 5.
Coronavirus spread in the north, on First Nations communities fighting outbreaks of COVID-19 and in the Thompson area, continued to drive up provincial totals on Sunday.
According to the province, on Sunday, Pimicikamak Cree Nation (also known as Cross Lake) had an estimated 200 active cases, including many children.
The virus is currently spreading through the community of about 8,000 people located roughly 500 kilometres north of Winnipeg. At least 146 households are affected and testing is ongoing, according to band leadership.
On Friday, members of the Canadian Armed Forces, federal and provincial officials arrived in Pimicikamak to meet with local leaders and to discuss what additional resources are needed to bring the COVID-19 outbreak under control.
The province also noted 184 active cases in the Island Lake health district and 74 active COVID-19 cases in the Thompson/Mystery Lake health district.
As of Sunday, the number of people in hospital receiving treatment for COVID-19 increased slightly to 208, including 31 patients in intensive care. Of those in hospital, 77 are considered infectious.
The province has delivered 61,426 shots of the COVID-19 vaccine, including 25,179 second doses as of Sunday. The province is expected to open up vaccine eligibility criteria to include members of the general public over 95 years old and First Nations people over 75 years old this week.
According to the province, there are 1,180 active COVID-19 cases in Manitoba, though that number is inflated due to backlogs in data entry.
