WINNIPEG -- Provincial health officials announced there are 16 new cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba.
Dr. Brent Roussin, the province's chief provincial health officer, made the announcement Monday afternoon.
There have been 558 cases in Manitoba since early March.
Of the new cases announced, 11 are from the Prairie Mountain Health Region and five are from the Southern Health Region.
In the Prairie Mountain Health Region, one case is a male between the ages of 10 and 19, one is a woman in her 20s, four are men in their 30s, three are men in their 40s, one is a man in his 50s and one is a woman in her 70s.
In the Southern Health Region, one case is a woman in her 30s, another is a woman in her 40s, two cases are men in their 40s and one is a man in his 50s.
Roussin said many of the new cases are connected to a cluster of cases in Brandon, which currently totals 64. He said most are connected to close contacts but a small amount is being considered community transmission.
He also mentioned there are 22 cases of COVID-19 connected to a business in Brandon.
"These cases are self-isolating and contact tracing is underway to determine close contacts," said Roussin. "The company is going beyond public health recommendations and is having a larger number of workers self-isolating than what was recommended."
There are currently six people in hospital, three of which are in intensive care.
There are 196 active cases, and 354 people have recovered from the virus.
The death toll remains at eight.
Roussin said the current positivity rate is 1.59 per cent.
On Sunday, 1,364 tests were performed, bringing the total number of tests to 103,782 since early February.
Roussin said it is important for people who get tested to do so 24 hours after symptoms develop and not to wait.
"What we found was a number of our cases being tested many, many days after symptom onset. So by the time we were connecting with contacts, some of those contacts are already symptomatic."
'LACK OF CLARITY'
Following the health announcement, Manitoba NDP MLA Uzoma Asagwara, who is the critic for Health, Seniors, and Active Living, said there continues to be a "lack of clarity" when it comes to the information being released.
"Now what we are seeing is a reactive tendency that is not benefitting Manitobans. So, we are seeing these case numbers increase, we're seeing clusters happening, we're seeing obvious community transmission now at this point, and we are seeing a hesitation from the government to act quickly and act clearly," said Asagwara.
They said situations in the province, like not closing the Maple Leaf plant or not mandating masks yet, shows the government is not using a proactive approach.
Asagwara said the government needs to get back to the house and put forward legislation that will help Manitobans worry less during this pandemic, such as implementing paid sick leave, which Asagwara said would help mitigate the risk of Manitobans contracting the virus.
