Two new deaths, 83 new COVID-19 cases Monday in Manitoba

WINNIPEG -

Manitoba health officials are reporting two new deaths and 83 cases of COVID-19 on Monday.

According to the province's COVID-19 bulletin, of the new cases, 56 were among unvaccinated people, three were among partially vaccinated individuals and 24 were fully vaccinated people.

The new cases include:

• 29 in the Southern Health Region, including 25 who were not fully vaccinated;
• 23 in Winnipeg, including 14 who were not fully vaccinated;
• 15 in the Prairie Mountain Health Region, including nine who were not fully vaccinated;
• 12 in the Northern Health Region, including 10 who were not fully vaccinated; and
• Four in Interlake-Eastern Health Region, including one case who was not fully vaccinated.

Officials also noted another 241 cases were identified over the weekend, 121 on Saturday and 120 on Sunday.

The numbers over the last three days include 122 cases from Southern Health, 87 from Winnipeg, 48 from Northern Health, 42 from Prairie Mountain Health and 25 from the Interlake-Eastern Health Region.

Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief provincial public health officer, said with the way cases are trending right now, Manitoba is heading down a severe trajectory.

"Right now we are tracking on the severe scenario. So we are seeing case numbers go up, we are seeing significant increases in hospitalizations and ICU," said Roussin, adding that some health regions are adding to the COVID-19 strain more than others.

The five-day test positivity rate is 3.7 per cent in Manitoba and 1.5 per cent in Winnipeg, with Roussin saying outbreaks throughout the province are leading to the inflated test positivity rate.

"Certainly, transmission and test positivity in Southern Health is contributing a significant degree to that,” he said.

“In other areas such as Northern, we have some localized outbreaks, which are contributing to significant test positivity as well, as well as in other regions."

He added that the Southern Health Region does have the highest test positivity rate in the province, but wouldn't specify what that number is.

Roussin is encouraging Manitobans to continue to practice the fundamentals and follow the new health orders that will be coming into effect on Tuesday in order to help lower the overall case count in the province.

While Roussin is calling on people to do the right thing with the new health orders, one southern Manitoba doctor isn't sure what impact it will have on residents.

Dr. Don Klassen, a family physician and anesthesiologist in Winkler, thinks those who are unvaccinated will just avoid places that require vaccination requirements.

He also doesn't think private gatherings will shrink with the new orders.

"It does sound a little pessimistic, but I think that's the reality we have at the moment," said Klassen.

Klassen adds, what does make him optimistic is that more than 81 per cent of eligible Manitobans have received both doses of the vaccine. 

There are currently 814 active cases, and Manitoba has had 60,943 cases since March 2020.

The province is also reporting two new deaths. Both of these deaths were men in their 70s from the Southern Health Region and both were linked to an unspecified variant of concern. One death happened on Saturday and one on Sunday.

The province has recorded 1,213 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

Manitoba has 98 people in hospital due to COVID, 64 of which have active cases. There are 18 COVID-19 patients in the ICU, including 13 with active cases.

On Sunday, 2,403 tests were completed, bringing the total to 1,014,482 since February 2020.