Another Manitoba care home worker tests positive; 21 new COVID-19 cases announced

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This article was published 04/09/2020 (1476 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Twenty-one new cases of COVID-19 were announced Saturday, bringing the total number of active cases in the province to 426.

Ten of the latest cases are in Winnipeg. Three are in the Interlake-Eastern Health region, four are in the Prairie Mountain Health region, and four are in the Southern Health region. Eight are related to close contacts, public health officials said in a news release.

Another personal care home, Winnipeg’s Concordia Place, has moved to Critical (red) status in the province’s pandemic response system. A health-care staff member there tested positive, public-health officials confirmed Saturday, after the case was previously announced. However, the risk to others in the facility remains low, officials said.

“This staff member had very limited contact at our facility and did not provide any direct resident care,” a statement on Concordia Place’s website reads.

Even so, the care home is taking precautions to prevent the spread, including restricting visitors and suspending admissions to the facility for the time being. Close contacts are being identified, and case investigations continue.

The care home’s measures come after an outbreak at Bethesda Place in Steinbach left four of its residents dead. Cases were identified starting Aug. 16. Other Manitoba nursing homes, including four in Brandon and two in Winnipeg, have reported outbreaks of the novel coronavirus. At least 17 care-home staff in Manitoba have tested positive.

Manitoba has seen 16 deaths owing to COVID-19. There are now 13 people in hospital, including two in intensive care.

As positive case-counts continue to rise, a Crown corporation is making masks mandatory in its facilities. 

Starting Thursday, Sept. 10, masks must be worn in all Manitoba Liquor Marts and casinos, including the Shark Club gaming centre.

The province also released an animated video, Wear It Well, showing kids how to don a non-medical mask and prevent the spread of the virus. The video is found on the province’s website and comes days before many children head back to class. It uses a hockey stick to explain physical distancing and references a taco as a way to safely store a reusable mask.

Public health officials are urging Manitobans to remember the fundamentals: remain home when feeling ill, follow proper hand hygiene, cover your cough, physically distance and wear a mask when you can’t.

The total number of Manitoba cases is 1,294 and there have been 852 recoveries. Health officials report the current five-day test positivity rate is 1.4 per cent with an additional 1,494 tests completed Friday.

gabrielle.piche@freepress.mb.ca