Manitoba reports 502 new COVID-19 cases amid new public health orders, fines, ICU prep

Health officials also announced the death of another Manitoban linked to the virus, a man in his 50s from the Southern Health region.

His death brings Manitoba’s COVID-19 death toll to 987.

Manitoba has reported more than 500 cases in a single day only twice before, and both previous times came during the height of the province’s second wave. The highest daily case count the province has seen was announced Nov. 23 with 546 new infections.

4:09 Winnipeg COVID-19 unit doctor on current cases

The province also reported 524 new cases Dec. 27, which included new infections identified from Dec. 24, 25, and 26.

“These numbers are alarming,” said Dr. Jazz Atwal, the province’s deputy chief public health officer.

“Our case numbers this week are up 25 per cent over the last week. In addition to the higher case numbers, we’re seeing an increase case demand for admissions to (intensive care) and hospital.”

Of Friday’s new cases, the largest number — 389 — come from the Winnipeg health region, with 17 reported in the Northern health region, 34 reported in Southern Health region, 32 reported in the Prairie Mountain region, and 30 found in the Interlake-Eastern region.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 9.6 per cent provincially and11.3 per cent in Winnipeg.

Health officials said 2,989 COVID-19 cases remain active as of Friday morning.

Hospitalization rates also rose sharply Friday.

The number of people in hospital connected to COVID-19 rose from 185 on Thursday to 201 as of Friday morning, and Manitoba’s chief nursing officer, Lanette Siragusa said 40 of those paitients are under the age of 40.

The number of patients in ICU with the virus also rose from 52 reported Thursday to 56 on Friday. Between COVID-19 patients and others requiring critical care, Siragusa said in all, 118 of Manitoba’s ICU beds are currently filled.

390 new variant cases, B.1617 variant confirmed

Meanwhile Manitoba’s count of variants of concern continues to climb, with 390 new cases added to a provincial site tracking the strains. Friday.

Atwall also confirmed four cases of the B.1617 variant of interest, the strain that has dominated India’s ongoing health crisis, have been confirmed in Manitoba.

Since the first variant case was reported in in February, the province has now recorded 3,393 cases, including 2,031 of the B.1.1.7 strain first identified in the United Kingdom, 27 cases of the B.1.351 variant first found in South Africa, and 17 P.1 variant cases, first identified in Brazil. An additional 1,318 variant cases are as yet unspecified.

Health officials say 1,232 variant cases remain active, and 16 deaths have been linked to the more-contagious strains.

1:53 Manitoba announces 5-day paid sick leave program

Laboratory testing numbers show 4,723 COVID-19 tests were completed Thursday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 685,810.

Since March 2020, Manitoba has now recorded 40,940 novel coronavirus cases after four previous cases were removed due to data corrections.

Manitoba announced 363 new cases and four additional deaths from the virus on Thursday.

Manitoba’s chief public health officer is expected to announced changes to Manitoba’s COVID-19 public health orders at a 6 p.m. press conference Friday.

–With files from The Canadian Press

Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.

To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus. In some provinces and municipalities across the country, masks or face coverings are now mandatory in indoor public spaces.

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