Winnipeg’s growing active COVID-19 caseload jumped again on Wednesday, when 30 of Manitoba’s 42 new cases of the illness were people who live in the capital city.
The update in a provincial news release came with a familiar plea to people living in or visiting Winnipeg: wash your hands, reduce the number of people you see from outside your household and stay home when sick.
There are now 418 active COVID-19 cases in Manitoba, with 335 of those — 80 per cent — in Winnipeg.
Wednesday’s update also came with more warnings about public places in Winnipeg that have had possible COVID-19 exposures. Several more bars and restaurants and a college are now among the places where people may have been exposed to the illness.
The new exposures include Earls restaurant in St. Vital (on Sept. 15 from 5:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.), Leopold’s Tavern in River Heights (on Sept. 15 from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.) and a trivia night at Wee Johnny’s Irish Pub in the Exchange District (on Sept. 15 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.).
Possible exposures were also announced at Local Public Eatery downtown (on Sept. 15 and 16, though no times were provided) after exposures were previously announced at the restaurant on Sept. 11 and 12. More information about possible public exposures is posted on the Manitoba government’s website.
Anyone who was at those places on the listed dates and times should watch for symptoms; if any develop, those people should immediately get tested for COVID-19 and self-isolate, the release says.
Late Wednesday, the Winnipeg School Division said a cohort of students at Grant Park High School was in self-isolation as someone at the school had tested positive.
Health officials told the school division that the person did not contract the virus in the school and risk to other students is considered low, division spokesperson Radean Carter said in an email.
One cohort at the school will begin self isolation while awaiting further instruction from public health, Carter said.
In a letter posted online, public health officials said the person was at the school on Sept. 15, 16 and 17 and that the affected class has been moved to remote learning.
A case of COVID-19 has also been linked to Red River College’s Notre Dame Campus in Winnipeg, the college said in an email to students on Wednesday afternoon.
The school got word from public health officials about the positive test on Wednesday, the message from chief human resource officer Melanie Gudmundson said. The person did not have symptoms while on campus, and the risk of further spread at the school is considered low, the email said.
One classroom has been closed for deep cleaning and disinfection, and everyone who was in that space on the day the sick person was there has been sent home, the email said.
