Manitoba reported 491 new COVID-19 cases and no additional deaths from the virus Friday, as modelling numbers show daily case counts and ICU numbers likely to rise in the coming weeks.
Dr. Jazz Atwal, the deputy chief public health officer, says the current spike in case numbers and hospitalization rates is being made worse by people not following the rules.
He says too many people are still gathering and interacting with others, despite public health orders that have been tightened three times in the last month.
Atwal released new modelling that suggests the daily number of new cases will likely rise for another week, and intensive care usage might rise for another four weeks.
Atwal says that is going to put a lot of stress on the health-care system.
Since March 2020, the province has reported 44,189 cases of COVID-19 after two previously announced cases were removed Friday due to what health officials say are data corrections.
The number of Manitobans with COVID-19 who have died remains at 1,002.
The latest infections include 328 cases in the Winnipeg Health region, 88 cases in the Southern Health region, 24 cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region, 10 cases in the Northern Health region, and 41 cases in the Interlake-Eastern Health region.
According to provincial health data 4,163 COVID-19 cases remain active in Manitoba.
