Manitoba declared two more outbreaks at Winnipeg schools and reported 291 more COVID-19 cases in the province on Tuesday, as another death linked to a more contagious coronavirus variant was also announced.
A man in his 40s from Winnipeg died due to the B117 coronavirus variant originally detected in the U.K., a news release says.
There have now been 11 deaths in the province linked to variants, which spread more easily than the original strain of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
The total number of variant cases also jumped 361 since Saturday — from 2,344 to 2,705.
Of Manitoba’s 2,692 active cases, 993 are variants.
Outbreaks were declared at Holy Cross School and The King’s School in Winnipeg. Both have been moved to the red, or critical, level of the province’s pandemic response system. Holy Cross has moved to remote learning until May 12, and King’s until May 16.
The province has declared 11 official outbreaks at schools since the beginning of the pandemic.
There are three active school outbreaks (including Marie-Anne Gaboury School), as cases among students and teachers have increased.
There have been 20 cases associated with Holy Cross in the past two weeks, 21 at Marie-Anne Gaboury and another 21 at King’s School, according to provincial data.
The rise in cases is causing an increasing number of school worker absences due to isolation requirements, several divisions said on Monday.
