Following the deadliest day of the pandemic in Manitoba, health officials have announced another death linked to a care home outbreak, as well as more than 160 new cases.
The most recent death, which was announced in a bulletin on Friday, is a man in his 80s in the Winnipeg region. His death is linked to the outbreak at Parkview Place care home in the city and was a previously announced case.
The outbreak at the care home has now grown to 108 cases, including 26 staff and 82 residents. The number of deaths connected to the care home is now at 15.
Outbreaks were also declared at four other care homes in Winnipeg on Friday.
The number of COVID-19-related deaths in Manitoba is now at 48. In the past seven days, the province has reported 10 deaths due to the disease.
The province also announced 163 new cases of COVID-19 as of Friday morning. These new cases have also pushed Manitoba’s five-day test positivity rate to 6.5 per cent – the highest it has ever been in Manitoba.
The new cases announced on Friday include:
one case in Prairie Mountain Health region;
eight cases in the Interlake-Eastern health region;
seven cases in the Northern health region;
19 cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region; and
128 cases in the Winnipeg health region.
Since the pandemic first hit Manitoba in March, the province has seen 3,935 total cases of the virus – though one case was removed from the total on Friday due to a data correction.
As COVID cases rise, the number of hospitalizations continues to grow as well, with 51 people are currently in hospital including eight people in intensive care.
According to the province, there are currently 1,855 active cases and 2,032 recoveries – though the provincial health officials say this number is not accurate due to a backlog in data entry. Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief provincial public health officer, has previously said the number of active cases may be much lower.
The province reported 2,642 tests were completed on Thursday, bringing the total number of lab tests done since early February to 236,023.
Health officials continue to remind Manitobans to cut down on the number of close contacts outside their homes and avoid crowded and or closed-in spaces.
Roussin told reporters on Thursday the rising cases in Manitoba are a result of people having large numbers of contacts outside their homes.
He said Manitobans need to stick to the fundamentals:
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.
The province said it is doing some system upgrades on Saturday, meaning some data, including testing numbers and five-day test positivity rate, will not be available. This information is expected to be released again on Sunday.
