Public health officials advise that three new deaths in people with COVID-19 have been reported today:
• a female in her 20s from the Winnipeg health region;
• a male in his 70s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the B.1.1.7 variant of concern; and
• a male in his 80s from the Prairie Mountain Health region, linked to the B.1.1.7 variant of concern.
The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 10.5 per cent provincially and 12.6 per cent in Winnipeg. As of 9:30 a.m. today, 488 new cases of the virus have been identified. However, three cases have been removed due to data correction. This brings the net-new number of cases today to 485 and the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba to 41,425.
Today’s COVID-19 data shows:
• 17 cases in the Interlake-Eastern health region;
• nine cases in the Northern health region;
• 30 cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region;
• 43 cases in the Southern Health-Santé Sud health region; and
• 389 cases in the Winnipeg health region.
The dashboard for COVID-19 in Manitoba can be found here.
The data also shows:
• 3,237 active cases and 37,198 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19;
• 139 people in hospital with active COVID-19 as well as 61 people in hospital with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 200 hospitalizations;
• 44 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as 10 people with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care, for a total of 54 ICU patients;
• 4,462 laboratory tests were completed yesterday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 690,365; and
• the total number of deaths in people with COVID-19 is 990.
Additional data on variants of concern is updated from Tuesday to Saturday at: https://geoportal.gov.mb.ca/. Data related to COVID-19, outbreaks and some downloadable and historic data can also be found at this site.
The Manitoba government has made amendments to the Preset Fines and Offence Descriptions Regulation and the Provincial Offences General Regulation under The Provincial Offences Act to strengthen provincial public health order enforcement. Changes include:
· increasing fines for individuals who have received two or more tickets for failing to wear a mask from $298 to $486;
· increasing fines for individuals who have received two or more tickets for other penalties under the orders from $1,296 to $2,542; and
· doubling the penalty for failing to pay a ticket in the required timeframe (default conviction) from $50 to $100.
Fines for businesses have not changed at this time.
Possible exposure locations are listed online by region at the province’s #RestartMB Pandemic Response System webpage. For up-to-date information on possible public exposures to COVID-19 in regions, visit www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/updates/flights.html#event and click on your region.
Public health officials are reminding Manitobans that in most cases, they should only seek testing at a provincial test site if they are symptomatic or have been advised by public health that they are a close contact. This will help ensure that those who need to be tested can continue to access testing as easily as possible.
Manitobans have several options available to access testing, including drive-thru, walk-in, or by booking an appointment by calling 1-855-268-4318 or online at select sites at https://www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/testing/locations.html#appointment.
For up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Manitoba, including the online screening tool, testing criteria and locations, self-isolation requirements, public health fundamentals and the provincial response level on the #RestartMB Pandemic Response System, visit: www.manitoba.ca/COVID19.