Four deaths in Manitoba linked to variants; COVID-19 case numbers below 100 for the third consecutive day

WINNIPEG -

Manitoba announced four new deaths related to COVID-19 on Tuesday, with all deaths linked to variants.

The deaths, announced in a bulletin on Tuesday, include three linked to the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) that was first reported in the United Kingdom. The deaths from the Alpha variant include a man in his 20s from the Interlake-Eastern Health Region, a man in his 60s from the Southern Health Region, and a woman in her 70s from Winnipeg.

The fourth death, a woman in her 70s from Winnipeg, was linked to an unspecified variant of concern.

Since March 2020, 1,129 Manitobans have died from COVID-19.

Manitoba also announced 69 new COVID-19 cases, the third consecutive day COVID-19 cases have been below 100. Seven previously announced cases were removed due to a data correction.

Since the pandemic was declared, 55,467 total COVID-19 cases have been reported in Manitoba. There are currently 1,860 active cases and 52,478 recoveries.

Manitoba’s five-day test positivity rate is 7.6 per cent, while it is 6.6. per cent in Winnipeg.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has dropped, with 224 reported on Tuesday.

There are currently 57 patients in Manitoba ICUs, while there are 14 people receiving intensive care treatment outside of the province. Of those patients, 13 are in Ontario, while one is in Alberta.

VARIANTS OF CONCERN

In the first update on variant of concern cases since Saturday, Manitoba is reporting 14,640 total variant cases in the province.

Of those cases, 1,080 are active, while 13,423 have recovered.

Unspecified variants of concern continue to be the dominant variant in Manitoba with 7,824 cases, followed by the Alpha variant, with 6,361 cases.

Manitoba reported 30 new cases of the Delta variant (B.1.617.2),first reported in India, on Tuesday. There have been 163 total cases of the variant since the pandemic started.

There have now been 201 cases of the Gamma variant, first reported in Brazil, and 67 cases of the Beta variant (B.1.351), first reported in South Africa.

Manitoba has reported 137 deaths linked to variants of concern.