COVID-19 hospital admissions climb in Manitoba, ICU admissions drop

Specimens to be tested for COVID-19 are seen at LifeLabs after being logged upon receipt at the company's lab, in Surrey, B.C., on Thursday, March 26, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

New number from the Manitoba government show that while COVID-19 ICU admissions dropped in the province, overall hospital admissions continued to rise.

On Thursday, the province released its COVID-19 surveillance report for April 17 to 23.

The report shows that during that week there were 188 COVID-19 hospital admissions, which is up by four compared to the previous week. However, the number of ICU admissions dropped from 22 to 12.

The province is reporting 13 COVID-related deaths from April 17 to 23, bringing Manitoba’s death toll to 1,792.

During this week, there were 1,436 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19, which is up from 1,190 the week before. The province has previously said this number is an undercount as it does not include the results of rapid tests taken at home.

The number of people tested for the virus also slightly increased from an average of 951 per day to 955.

The weekly test positivity rate is 23.4 per cent.

The province did not identify any new outbreak during this time.

Wastewater surveillance data for Winnipeg shows ongoing COVID-19 activity, with a generalized stabilization in activity.

According to the report, 82.8 per cent of eligible Manitobans have received at lease one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 79.2 per cent have received two doses. As of March 31, 42.1 per cent of eligible Manitobans are triple vaccinated.