WINNIPEG -- Active cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba have hit more than 700, as public health officials announced 51 new cases.

On Monday Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, and Health Minister Cameron Friesen, said these new cases bring the total number of active cases in the province to 739 – the majority of which are in the Winnipeg region.

The new cases include:

  • one case in the Northern health region;
  • three cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region; 
  • 12 cases in the Interlake–Eastern health region; and
  • 35 cases in the Winnipeg health region.

The Winnipeg region currently has 639 active cases, with 136 of these cases in the River East area and 126 in the Downtown area.

The Winnipeg Metropolitan Region, which includes surrounding municipalities, remains under the restricted level in the province's Pandemic Response System. Under this system, the province is introducing new guidelines and restrictions on restaurants and bars in the region to curb the growing number of cases, which includes a ban on liquor sale and service after 10 p.m.

READ MORE: New regulations coming to licensed bars and restaurants in Winnipeg

Roussin said Winnipeg currently has a test positivity rate of three per cent.

As of Friday the Interlake Eastern region has 44 active cases, Southern Health – Santé Sud has 29 active cases, Prairie Mountain Health has 15 active cases, and the Northern health region has 12 active cases.

Since March, the province has seen a total of 2,191 cases of COVID-19.

There are currently 23 people in hospital and six people in intensive care. The number of recoveries is now at 1,429. The five-day test-positivity rate is at 2.4 per cent.

Roussin said the numbers of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have been increasing, and include people between the ages of 17 and 88. He said there are people in their 20s, 30s and 40s currently in intensive care.

"This is something that we expect as cases increase, but it has to remind us to get back to those fundamentals that have served us so well," he said.

The number of deaths remains at 23.

Roussin said the death announced on Sunday – a man in his 50s from the Winnipeg Health Region – was connected to an outbreak at Heritage Lodge Long Term Care Home. He said this man had multiple underlying medical conditions.

He said the outbreak at the care home is now at 11 cases of COVID-19.

"I think it just shows that once that virus is introduced into a setting like that, transmission is very difficult to limit," Roussin said.

He said the outbreak at the Parkview Place care home has 24 cases of COVID-19, which include four staff members and 20 residents. The Bethesda Place care home currently has 18 cases of COVID-19, which include 10 staff and eight residents.

The outbreak at John Pritchard School is at 38 cases as of Monday, Roussin said, adding 10 of these cases are linked to each other.