WINNIPEG -- More than 100 of Manitoba’s health-care workers tested positive for COVID-19 during the week of the Christmas holidays.

The province’s latest COVID-19 and seasonal influenza surveillance report, which covers Dec. 20 to 26, shows that since the beginning of the pandemic, 1,594 of Manitoba’s health-care workers have contracted the disease. This is 109 more cases than the province recorded in the report the week before.

In terms of their professions, 918 are allied health and support staff, 460 are nurses/licensed practical nurses, 61 are physicians or physicians in training and 30 are first responders. For the rest of the cases, the jobs are not identified.

As for how the workers contracted COVID-19, the majority (58.8 per cent) got it through close contact with a known case and 0.8 per cent got it through travel. For 11 per cent of the workers, the source of infection is being investigated and for 29.4 per cent it’s unknown.

The province notes 1,475 of these workers have recovered from the disease.

According to the report, 237 pregnant Manitobans have contracted COVID-19 since the pandemic began, which is 17 more cases than reported the week prior. 

Between Dec. 20 and 26, Manitoba recorded 1,285 new cases of COVID-19, a decrease of 536 cases from the week before. 

The volume of tests and the test positivity rate dropped as well, decreasing to 1,705 tests per day and a positivity rate of 11.4 per cent.

Of the nearly 1,300 new cases this week, the majority (50 per cent) were from Winnipeg Regional Health, with 17 per cent from the Northern Health Region. The Southern Health - Santé Sud and the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authorities each reported 14 per cent of the cases, and the Prairie Mountain Health Authority accounted for four per cent.

Since the pandemic began, 51.8 per cent of Manitobans contracted COVID-19 from close contact with other cases and 1.4 per cent from travel. The province is still investigating the source of 23 per cent of cases and for 23.8 per cent, it’s unknown.

During the week of Dec. 20 to 26, there were no lab-confirmed cases of influenza.