Two new deaths in people with COVID-19 is being reported today including:
• a female in her 50s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the B.1.1.7 (alpha) variant of concern; and
• a male in his 90s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region, linked to an unspecified variant of concern.
The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 2.6 per cent provincially and 1.8 per cent in Winnipeg. As of 9:30 a.m. today, 101 new cases of the virus have been identified since Tuesday: 31 cases on Tuesday, Aug.10, 36 cases Wednesday, Aug. 11 and 34 today. Ten cases have been removed due to data corrections, bringing the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba to 57,951.
Of the 34 cases reported today, the COVID-19 data shows:
• five new cases in the Interlake–Eastern health region;
• one new case in the Northern health region;
• three new cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region;
• six new cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region; and
• 19 new cases in the Winnipeg health region.
Today’s data also shows:
• 586 active cases and 56,181 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19;
• 75 Manitobans hospitalized with COVID-19 including 19 people with active COVID-19 as well as 56 people who are no longer infectious;
• a total of 11 Manitoba patients receiving intensive care for COVID-19 including two people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as nine people who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care;
• 1,590 laboratory tests were completed yesterday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 891,397; and
• the total number of deaths in people with COVID-19 is 1,184.
Manitobans are advised the Thunderbird House COVID-19 testing site in Winnipeg will close after Friday, Aug. 13. Testing sites at Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata (445 King St.), the Garrick Centre (330 Garry St.) and the drive-thru site at MPI (1284 Main St.) continue to be available for those who need testing in the Winnipeg area. Timely testing continues at a variety of locations across the province, which can be found at www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/testing/locations.html#map.
The Manitoba government is also providing an update on ongoing enforcement efforts to protect Manitobans from the spread of COVID-19. A total of 27 warnings and three tickets were issued for the week of Aug. 2 to 8 including:
• two $298 tickets to individuals for failure to wear a mask in an indoor public place; and
• one $5,000 ticket to a business.
Manitobans are urged to continue reporting compliance and enforcement issues by visiting www.manitoba.ca/COVID19 and completing the reporting form, or by calling 204-945-3744 or (toll-free) 1-866-626-4862 and pressing option three on the call menu. Updated enforcement statistics are posted online weekly at https://manitoba.ca/openmb/infomb/departments/index.html#cdr.
The outbreak has been declared over at Bethesda Regional Health Centre Medicine unit in Steinbach.
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.
Additional data on variants of concern is available 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.
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.