The province hit a new record of active COVID-19 cases during the weekend, with 4,849 reported as of Sunday.
This includes 712 new cases reported during the weekend, of which the majority — 474 — were again in the Winnipeg health region.
Prairie Mountain Health now has 103 active cases, of which 32 were reported during the weekend.
This total falls short of the 185 active cases recorded in the health region on Aug. 26, but signals the worst day in the pandemic’s current wave and the worst since Sept. 2.
The weekend also found 10 more people die as a result of COVID-19 in Manitoba, which brings the total number of deaths to 106.
All 10 deaths were recorded in the Winnipeg health region, with several linked to COVID-19 outbreaks at hospitals and care homes and hit people ranging in age from their 60s to 90s.
There are also three more possible public exposure locations in Prairie Mountain Health, including:
• Boston Pizza, at 2040 Marshall Lane in Brandon, on Nov. 1 from 4:30 to 11:30 p.m.
• Elton Collegiate in Forrest, where there was a confirmed case on Nov. 2 when the person might have been infectious. This case was assessed as low-risk, and everyone who was considered a close contact has been identified and required to self-isolate.
• Erickson Collegiate, where a confirmed case of COVID-19 was in the school on Nov. 2. The exposure was assessed as low risk and the infection is not believed to have been acquired at the school. Anyone who is a close contact has received a letter or phone call from public health and has been advised to self-isolate.
The current five-day test positivity rate in Manitoba is 9.1 per cent, and there are 173 people in hospital for COVID-19, of whom 25 are in intensive care. There are two people in Prairie Mountain Health hospitalized with COVID-19, of whom neither are in intensive care.
In weekend media releases, the province again urged people to not socialize with those outside their household, to significantly reduce their number of close contacts and to avoid closed-in or crowded spaces.
In order to maintain the capacity for testing people with COVID-19 symptoms, public health has advised that test appointments will not be booked for asymptomatic people unless directed by public health. People who are not experiencing symptoms may be turned away from test sites.
The Winnipeg area and Southern Health-Santè Sud remain under level red in the province’s Pandemic Response System, while the province’s other health regions, including Prairie Mountain Health, are under level orange.
Although level orange is less restrictive than red, it still restricts group gatherings to five people in addition to household members and mandates the use of masks in indoor public places, among other things.
» The Brandon Sun
