WINNIPEG -- Manitoba is reporting the lowest COVID-19 case count it has seen since mid-October.

On Monday, the province announced 53 new cases had been identified – the lowest single-day case count since October 18 – when 44 cases were reported.

 

While COVID-19 case counts are dropping to October levels, hospitalizations remain much higher than they were four months ago.

In mid-October, the province had fewer than 40 people in hospital with COVID-19. As of Monday, the province had 271 infected people in hospital. This included 105 people with active COVID-19 cases and 166 people who are no longer infectious but still need care.

There were 34 people with COVID-19 in intensive care on Monday. Of the people in ICU, 15 had active cases and 19 were no longer infectious but still needed critical care.

Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief provincial public health officer, said the ICU numbers are the lowest they have been since late November.

"This is all the result of the work of Manitobans," Roussin said, citing the code restrictions that have been in place in the province since Nov. 12.

"The numbers show us that they are effective, they are working, and has put Manitobans back in the position to continue our slow cautious reopening."

The province has released some proposed changes to the health orders that could take effect on Friday, Feb. 12, when the current round of restrictions expire.

READ MORE: More businesses could reopen in Manitoba under new proposed public health orders

Roussin said the province will release more details of what the new set of orders will look like on Tuesday.

Along with the cases, the province reported four more Manitobans had died related to COVID-19.

The deaths include two women in their 60s and 70s from the Northern Health Region, a man in his 70s from Winnipeg, and a woman in her 80s whose death has been connected to the outbreak at Morris General Hospital in the Southern Health Region.

This brings the total number of deaths related to COVID-19 in Manitoba to 850.

 

The new cases bring Manitoba's total COVID-19 case count to 30,289, though one case was removed due to a data correction. The province's five-day test positivity rate is at 5.9 per cent.

The cases reported on Monday include:

  • three cases in Interlake–Eastern Health Region;
  • 12 cases in the Northern Health Region;
  • three cases in the Prairie Mountain Health Region;
  • four cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud Health Region; and
  • 31 cases in the Winnipeg health region.

The five-day test positivity rate in Winnipeg is at 4.2 per cent.

 

Active cases were cut in half on Monday, dropping to 1,622 active cases. Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief provincial public health officer, said this is due to the province reviewing and updating older cases.

The province reported 27,817 people have recovered from COVID-19 in Manitoba.

OUTBREAKS DECLARED IN WINNIPEG

The province declared a number of COVID-19 outbreaks in Winnipeg on Monday. Outbreaks were declared at Actionmarguerite St. Boniface, Seven Oaks General Hospital Unit 3U1-3, and St. Amant Health and Transition Services.

The sites have been moved to the red or critical level of Manitoba's pandemic response system.

The outbreaks at the St. Paul’s Personal Care Home in Dauphin, Salem Home in Winkler, and Extendicare Tuxedo Villa Personal Care Home and Seven Oaks General Hospital Unit 4U8-12 in Winnipeg have all been declared over.

DAILY TESTING IN MANITOBA

The province completed 1,373 tests on Sunday. This brings the total number of tests completed since early February 2020 to 490,879.

Roussin said all Manitoba childcare providers working in licensed childcare centres, nursery schools and family group childcare homes, along with eligible early child development specialists or Autism applied behaviour analysts and consultants, are now eligible for rapid testing at the Fast Pass site in Winnipeg.

The site, which is located at 1066 Nairn Ave. opened for appointments for eligible childcare providers on Monday.