Dozens more Manitoba health-care workers test positive for COVID-19

WINNIPEG -- Another 65 of Manitoba’s health-care workers tested positive for COVID-19 in the span of a week.

According to the province’s latest COVID-19 and seasonal influenza surveillance report which covers Jan. 3 to Jan.9, a total of 1,731 health-care workers have contracted the disease since the beginning of the pandemic. This is 65 more cases than the province reported the week before.

Of these more than 1,700 workers, two have died and 1,694 have recovered.

As for their occupations, 994 are allied health and support staff, 502 are nurses/licensed practical nurses, 68 are physicians or physicians in training, and 37 are first responders. The occupation of 130 of these workers is not identified in the report.

In terms of how these workers contracted the disease, the majority (59.3 per cent) got it from close contact with a known case, and 0.8 per cent got it from travel. The source of infection for 10.5 per cent of Manitoba’s health-care workers is still being investigated, while for 29.5 per cent it is unknown.

According to the latest surveillance report, 275 pregnant Manitobans have tested positive for COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, which is 23 more cases than recorded in the week prior. 

Between Jan. 3 and Jan. 9, there were 1,185 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba, an increase of 207 cases from the previous week.

The volume of lab tests also increased this week, from an average of 1,373 tests per day to 1,808 per day. 

However, Manitoba’s test positivity rate did see a decrease this week, going from 10.5 per cent in the week before to 10.2 per cent.

The majority of the 1,185 cases -- 52 per cent of them -- were from Winnipeg Regional Health, and 23 per cent were from the Northern Health Region. Prairie Mountain Health recorded 10 per cent of the new cases, Southern Health - Santé Sud Regional Health Authority accounted for nine per cent, and the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority reported six per cent of the cases.

Since the pandemic began, 52.3 per cent of the province’s cases were from close contact to other cases, and 1.3 per cent from travel. The source of 22.6 per cent of cases is still being investigated, while for 23.8 per cent it is not known.

The surveillance report notes that there were no lab-confirmed cases of influenza during this week.