Virus totals rise as Southern Health goes red

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This article was published 08/11/2020 (1546 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As Health Minister Cameron Friesen wrapped a news conference over the noon hour on Sunday, responding to a growing number of COVID-19 deaths among residents at Winnipeg’s Maples Personal Care Home, the province was issuing its latest sobering figures on the still-rising coronavirus threat in Manitoba.

After a week of code-red restrictions in Winnipeg, Sunday’s figures still gave little indication that the virus is loosening its grip within the capital city or the province at large. As of Monday, the Southern Health region will be subject to code-red restrictions as well.

Another 441 new cases were announced Sunday, the second-highest daily total since the pandemic began.

Three more deaths were also reported, increasing the number of fatalities in the province linked to COVID-19 to 106. Nearly half of all of the province’s COVID-19 deaths have occurred in the last two weeks.

A woman in her 70s, a woman in her 80s and a woman in her 90s were reported as the latest to die from the virus. All three women were from the Winnipeg health region. The oldest of the deceased was linked to an outbreak at the Seine River Retirement Home, the province said.

There are 4,849 active cases of the virus in Manitoba. Another 3,175 Manitobans have recovered COVID-19.

New cases totalled 318 in the Winnipeg health region, 86 new cases were reported in Southern Health, 16 cases were noted in the Interlake-Eastern region, 12 cases were reported in the Northern health region and nine cases were identified in Prairie Mountain Health.

Code-red restrictions that expand to Southern Health Monday were announced on Friday and mirror the code-red restrictions already in place in the Winnipeg area. Southern Health includes rural communities like Morden, Portage la Prairie, Steinbach and Winkler.

Steinbach, the province’s third largest city, is a hotspot in the 27,000-square-kilometre region. There are 152 active cases in the Steinbach district, where outbreaks continue at the community’s hospital and in four seniors homes. There are another 95 active cases in the two neighbouring health districts: 55 in Hanover and 40 in Ste. Anne/La Broquerie. The three health districts account for 46 per cent of the Southern Health region’s 542 active cases.

“Now more than ever, all Manitobans need to focus on staying home, reducing your close contacts and focusing on the fundamentals to keep each other safe,” said Manitoba’s chief provincial health officer Dr. Brent Roussin in a press release on Friday.

“Extending these restrictions to the southern region of our province will help slow the community spread of COVID-19 and ensure our health-care facilities can continue to provide the services Manitobans need during this challenging time.”

The province recently announced public health order fines have increased to $1,296 for individuals and $5,000 for corporations. Residents within areas subject to red-alert restrictions must also self-isolate if any household members are awaiting COVID-19 test results.

Hospitalization figures continue to climb as well. A record 173 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Sunday, of which 25 people were in intensive care.

The province’s five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 9.2 per cent, while Winnipeg’s positivity rate is now 8.9 per cent. The province said 3,590 tests were completed on Saturday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February to 285,269.