Manitoba continues to report on the recorded number of COVID-19 cases. However, it is important to note this data is limited and should be used with caution. It includes cases confirmed by a PCR test as well as rapid tests given by health-care professionals. Positive test results from rapid antigen tests, which people generally do at home, are not collected or reported. As a result, these numbers are an under-reporting of COVID-19 in the community.
Public health officials advise 14 new deaths in people with COVID-19 are being reported today:
a female in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Tuesday);
a male in his 80s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Tuesday);
a male in his 90s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Tuesday);
a male in his 90s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Tuesday);
a male in his 90s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Tuesday);
a female in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Tuesday);
a female in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region and linked to the outbreak at Actionmarguerite St. Joseph (reported Tuesday);
a male in his 50s from the Northern health region (reported Wednesday);
a female in her 80s from the Northern health region (reported Wednesday);
a female in 90s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Wednesday);
a female in 60s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Wednesday);
a male in his 60s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Wednesday);
a female in 90s from the Winnipeg health region and linked to the outbreak at River Park Gardens (reported Wednesday); and
a male in his 60s from the Northern health region (reported Wednesday).
In total, the province is reporting 526 new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing Manitoba's total active case count to 32,547. There are 744 total COVID-19 hospitalizations in Manitoba, 642 of which are active cases. As well, there are 54 COVID-related ICU patients in the province - 47 of which are active cases. The provincial test positivity rate is 29.3%
Information about COVID-19 in Manitoba is updated weekdays at 12:30 p.m. on these DataMB dashboards:
Case data: https://geoportal.gov.mb.ca/apps/manitoba-covid-19/
COVID-19 vaccination coverage: https://geoportal.gov.mb.ca/apps/manitoba-covid-19-vaccinations-dashboard-1/
Public health highlights the following COVID-19 data trends for the week ending Jan. 27. People who are not fully vaccinated are four times as likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19, nine times as likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit and 10 times as likely to die with COVID-19. Case and risk by vaccination status data is updated each Wednesday here: https://geoportal.gov.mb.ca/apps/manitoba-covid-19-cases-and-risk-by-vaccination-status/explore.
Key Updates
Starting today, testing site locations across Manitoba will provide one additional testing kit for symptomatic household members upon request. The symptomatic household member does not need to be in attendance for pick-up. See testing site locations here: https://manitoba.ca/covid19/testing/locations.html#list.
Only symptomatic individuals or those advised by public health should visit a COVID-19 provincial testing site. Rapid antigen tests will continue to be used for the majority of people visiting a provincial testing site. Those who are at higher risk of severe illness as well as some groups who have tested positive on a rapid antigen test will still be eligible for PCR testing. Detailed information on updated COVID-19 testing eligibility can be found at:
https://gov.mb.ca/covid19/testing/index.html.
Outbreaks
Outbreaks have been declared at:
Concordia Hospital, unit N1N, Winnipeg; and
St. Paul’s Personal Care Home, The Pas.
Outbreaks have been declared over at:
Concordia Hospital, unit N3W, Winnipeg;
St. Boniface Hospital, unit M2, Winnipeg;
Health Sciences Centre, units GD3, GD4 and PX2, Winnipeg;
Deer Lodge Centre, Lodge 2 East, Winnipeg;
Riverview Health Centre, Winnipeg;
Donwood Manor personal care home, Winnipeg;
The Convalescent Home of Winnipeg, Winnipeg;
Actionmargarite St. Vital, Winnipeg;
Golden West Centennial Lodge, Winnipeg;
Villa Youville Inc., Ste. Anne; and
Gillam Hospital, Gillam.
Enforcement
The Manitoba government is also providing an update on ongoing enforcement efforts to protect Manitobans from the spread of COVID-19. A total of 1,882 inspections occurred, which resulted in 28 warnings and 41 tickets issued for the week of Jan. 24 to 30 including:
one $1,296 ticket to an individual;
37 $298 tickets to individuals for failure to wear a mask in an indoor public place; and
one $8,550 ticket to an individual for the Federal Quarantine Act.
Manitobans are urged to continue reporting compliance and enforcement issues by visiting www.manitoba.ca/COVID19 and completing the reporting form, or by calling 204-945-3744 or (toll-free) 1-866-626-4862 and pressing option three on the call menu. Updated enforcement statistics are posted online weekly at https://manitoba.ca/openmb/infomb/departments/index.html#cdr.
Tickets issued by health region include:
zero tickets in Interlake-Eastern (zero per cent);
one ticket in Northern (two per cent);
three tickets in Prairie Mountain Health (seven per cent);
27 tickets in Southern Health-Sante Sud (66 per cent); and
10 tickets in Winnipeg (24 per cent).
Vaccine
The RBC provincial vaccine clinic is open for walk-in appointments.
Manitobans who are eligible for a third dose, or booster, are urged to get one. The booster dose is readily available to everyone over age 18 in Manitoba. It is most important that those who are 50 and over get immunized with a third dose right away, because this age group is experiencing and will continue to experience more severe outcomes, including hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths.
Manitobans who live in First Nations communities, have diabetes or are immunocompromised are urged to get a third dose. A complete listing of the medical conditions that would classify a person as immunocompromised can be found at https://protectmb.ca.
Delivering the second round of vaccines to children ages 5 to 11 is continuing in many locations, including schools. It is recommended by Health Canada, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization and public health that the second dose be administered eight weeks following the first dose.
As of today, a total of 70,755 first doses have been given to children ages five to 11, or 56.6 per cent of that age group.
Manitobans are encouraged to get their second and third doses as quickly as possible. While COVID-19 vaccine appointments continue to be available at regional or provincial vaccine clinics, for many people the fastest way to be immunized is at a nearby medical clinic, pharmacy or urban Indigenous clinic. Check the online vaccine finder or a medical clinic or pharmacy near you that provides the COVID-19 vaccine to find the next available opportunity to be immunized. The timeline between second and third doses and eligibility criteria information can be found at https://manitoba.ca/covid19/vaccine/eligibility-criteria.html.
Eligible individuals can book their appointments online, by calling (toll-free) 1-844-626-8222 (1-844-MAN-VACC) or by contacting their local pharmacy or medical clinic directly. Visit www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/vaccine/finder.html for some of the available options.