97 new cases of COVID-19 identified in the province today. Two additional deaths reported due to the virus.

Those who died from COVID-19 are identified as:

• a female in her 90s from the Winnipeg health region; and
• a female in her 90s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at Charleswood Care Centre.

The five-day test positivity rate is currently 5.4 per cent provincially and 4.4 per cent in Winnipeg.

The total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba is 31,483.

Today’s cases are from the following health regions:

• four cases in the Interlake-Eastern health region;
• 36 cases in the Northern health region;
• one case in the Prairie Mountain Health region;
• two cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region; and
• 54 cases in the Winnipeg health region.

There are currently 1,219 active cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba with 29,378 people listed as recovered.

206 people are being treated in the hospital of which 78 are considered infectious. 32 people with the virus are in Intensive Care Units with 14 of them still considered infectious.

The total number of cases related to variants of concern is four.

886 Manitobans have died since COVID-19 first arrived in the province.

1,790 tests were completed yesterday. Since the virus first arrived in February 2020, there have been 514,357 tests completed.

Dr Brent Roussin chief provincial public health officer is advising Manitobans that the threshold for prolonged contact is lowered from 15 minutes to 10 minutes. This will potentially increase the number of close contacts identified with each case. If someone in a household tests positive for COVID-19 all household members will be considered close contacts and must isolate under public health guidelines. Anyone who is a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19 but lives a different house must self-isolate as well as anyone who lives in the close contacts household until the close contact has a negative test result. Close contacts will be required to self-isolate for a minimum of 14 days regardless of test results.

LINK | Manitoba COVID-19 Dashboard

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