Public health officials advise two additional deaths due to COVID-19 have been reported from the Winnipeg health region, a female in her 90s linked to an outbreak at Maples Personal Care Home and a female in her 50s.
The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 8.7 per cent and 349 new cases of the virus have been identified as of 9:30 a.m., which brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba to 5,723.
The test positivity rate in Winnipeg is 9.9 per cent. Officials advise this number is less reliable due to the smaller sample size. In addition, it does not reflect the situation in other parts of the province, as cases continue to be identified outside Winnipeg.
Of the 349 new cases, one was identified Tuesday, three were identified Wednesday, 131 were identified Thursday and 214 were identified on Friday.
Today’s data shows:
• 33 cases in the Interlake–Eastern health region;
• 35 cases in the Northern health region;
• 16 cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region;
• 34 cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region; and
• 231 cases in the Winnipeg health region.
Maps of cases by health districts can be found here.
The data also shows:
• 3,010 active cases and 2,646 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19; and
• the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 67.
Hospitalization and intensive care unit information is not available at this time due to data processing issues. The data is expected to be available later this evening, and will be shared by news release and posted on Twitter once available. Online dashboards will be updated tomorrow.
Laboratory testing numbers show 2,320 tests were completed yesterday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February to 255,942. Case investigations continue and if a public health risk is identified, the public will be notified.
A new drive-thru COVID-19 testing site opened today at the Manitoba Public Insurance building at 125 King Edward St. in Winnipeg. The site will operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily and will add immediate additional capacity in Winnipeg, performing up to 400 tests per day once fully established.
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.
Effective Monday, Nov. 2, the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region will move to the Critical level (red) on the #RestartMB Pandemic Response System. The Southern Health–Santé Sud, Prairie Mountain Health and Interlake–Eastern health regions will move to the Restricted level (orange) on the #RestartMB Pandemic Response System. The Northern health region moved to the Restricted level (orange) on Oct. 26.
The chief provincial public health officer urges Manitobans to not socialize with people from outside their household, to cut down the number of close contacts and avoid closed-in or crowded spaces. In addition, they should focus on these fundamentals to help stop the spread of COVID-19:
• Stay home if you are sick.
• Wash/sanitize your hands and cover your cough.
• Physically distance when you are with people outside your household.
• If you cannot physically distance, wear a mask to help reduce the risk to others or as required by public health orders.
Unless recommended by public health officials, only individuals experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should go for testing. Individuals with symptoms are asked to seek testing as soon as possible once symptoms are present. Employers are asked to only send employees for testing if they have symptoms or if testing has been recommended by public health officials.
The online assessment tool can be found at https://sharedhealthmb.ca/covid19/screening-tool/ and COVID-19 symptoms can be found at:
www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/updates/about.html#collapse4.
For up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Manitoba, visit www.manitoba.ca/COVID19.
For up-to-date information on the #RestartMB Pandemic Response System, visit:
https://manitoba.ca/covid19/restartmb/prs/index.html.