Manitoba public health officials announced that 72 new cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba have been identified as of Sunday morning.
Dr. Brent Roussin, the province’s chief public health officer, and Health Minister Cameron Friesen made the announcement at a news conference Sunday.
The data shows there are:
45 new cases in Prairie Mountain Health
16 new cases in Southern Health-Santé Sud
9 new cases in Winnipeg
1 new case in the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority
1 new case in Northern Health
The province’s current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 2.7 per cent.
The total number of lab-confirmed positive cases in Manitoba is now 944.
Preliminary investigations indicate the majority of the Prairie Mountain Health cases are linked to intentional testing related to known clusters in communal living communities.
Roussin isn’t identifying the type of community for fear of stigmatization but says there are multiple Hutterite colonies that have positive cases.
“There’s a lot of co-operation. In any setting where there’s close, prolonged contact there’s increased risk of transferring the virus. These communities are working hard to reduce their risk,” he said.
“It’s voluntary testing, but there’s been, in couple of occasions, mobile testing to assist with testing.”
Cameron Friesen says he’s been in contact with the Hutterian Safety Council adding that a significant number of Sunday’s reported numbers are due to testing on colonies.
“Hutterite colonies were among the first groups to stand up to sew masks, to bring food to food banks and supply hospitals,” he said.
“These are our neighbours, these are our friends.”
