Manitoba to move to yellow level on Pandemic Response System this weekend; 2 COVID deaths recorded Thursday

WINNIPEG -

The province is getting set to move to level yellow (caution) on the Pandemic Response System.

The change will take effect on Saturday, the same day the new public health orders will come into play.

The province said the change reflects that the spread of COVID-19 in Manitoba is now at low to moderate levels.

Manitoba has been at the orange (restricted) level since June 26, after being in Code Red since November 2020.

Health officials also announced Thursday that Manitoba is reporting 37 new COVID-19 cases and two deaths.

The deaths include a man in his 50s from Winnipeg linked to the Alpha variant, and a woman in her 60s from the Interlake-Eastern Health Region linked to an unspecified variant of concern.

Manitoba’s COVID-19 death toll is now 1,183.

The current test positivity rate is 2.1 per cent provincially and 1.8 per cent in Winnipeg.

Since the start of the pandemic, 57,739 COVID-19 cases have been reported. The province said six previous cases were removed due to a data correction.

There are 528 active cases and 56,028 people have recovered from COVID-19.

The province’s latest report says there are 91 people hospitalized with COVID-19, with 29 of those people having active cases.

There are 17 people receiving intensive care for COVID-19, including four people with active cases.

ENFORCEMENT UPDATE

The province handed out 14 tickets to people and businesses who violated public health orders last week, according to the most recent update.

Of the tickets, nine $1,296 tickets were handed out to individuals for various public health order violations, while three $298 tickets were given to people who weren’t wearing masks in indoor public places.

Ibex Ethiopian Restaurant & Lounge in Winnipeg, and the Pelican Campground & Lounge in Ninette each received a $5,000 ticket for alleged health order violations.

Since April 2020, more than $2.8 million in fines have been issued.

Enforcement statistics will be revealed in Thursday’s COVID-19 bulletin going forward.