Three cases have been linked to a unit of the Brandon Regional Health Centre, according to a press release by Manitoba health officials.
The unit is part of the second floor of the hospital’s Assiniboine Centre in Brandon, Man., where officials have implemented outbreak protocols out of an abundance of caution. The risk of future spread within the facility is still considered “low,” as officials try to identify close contacts as part of their investigation into the outbreak.
The Assiniboine Centre currently provides care for rehabilitation patients and those with other longer term stays, according to CBC, who received confirmation from Prairie Mountain Health.
The three patients were part of the 35 daily cases that Manitoba health officials announced on Sunday, as its concerning case trend continues. There are now a record-high 462 currently infected patients in the province. It marks the 10th time over the past 11 days that Manitoba has set a new record-high for active cases.
Of the most recent patients, 17 were identified in Winnipeg and 12 in Prairie Mountain Health, which remains its epicentre as the only region with additional COVID-19 measures in place.
Brandon has 160 of 243 of Prairie Mountain Health’s active cases. In comparison, Winnipeg has 138 active cases, despite having more than 10 times the population of Brandon.
In general, Prairie Mountain Health continues to deal with outbreaks, such as at its Maple Leaf Foods pork processing facility in Brandon, in communal living settings, which includes Hutterite colonies, and in long-term care homes, along with its most recent hospital outbreak.
Eight of Manitoba’s 35 recently identified cases are close contacts of previous patients, according to a press release, however community spread has been reported in both Brandon and Winnipeg over the course of August.
Throughout the pandemic, Manitoba has had 1,186 COVID-19 cases. That includes 710 people who have recovered and 14 fatalities.
On July 14, the province came very close to having no active cases. That day, after all of its initial patients had recovered, health officials diagnosed five other people. Since then, Manitoba has seen its curb trend upwards.
On Aug. 12, for the first time, the province surpassed 200 active cases. It’s a mark it hasn’t fallen under since, with Wednesday also being the first day that the province eclipsed the 400-case mark.
