Nearly 190 Manitoba health-care workers test positive for COVID-19 in the same week

WINNIPEG -- Nearly 190 additional health-care workers in Manitoba tested positive for COVID-19 in the span of a week.

According to the Manitoba government’s latest surveillance data from Nov. 22 to 28, a total of 824 health-care workers have tested positive for the disease since the beginning of the pandemic, which is 187 more cases than the week before. The data shows that 428 of these workers have recovered.

Of these workers, 461 are allied health and support staff, 233 are nurses or licensed practical nurses, and 29 are physicians or physicians in training. The province added that first responders account for 20 of the cases.

As for how the health-care employees contracted the infection, the majority – 60.9 per cent – got it from close contact with known cases, while 1.3 per cent got it from travel. For 14.6 per cent of the cases, the source is still being investigated and for the rest, the cause is unknown.

The surveillance data, which monitors the intensity, geographical spread, characteristics, and transmission of COVID-19, also shows a sharp increase in Manitoba’s pregnant cases. The province is reporting that 166 pregnant people have contracted the disease since the pandemic began, an increase of 39 cases from the week prior.

Manitoba is also reporting 10 additional COVID-19 outbreaks during this week, bringing the total number of outbreaks since the start of the pandemic to 116. Of these 10 new outbreaks, five were at long-term care facilities.

Between Nov. 22 and 28, there were 2,906 new cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba, which is 357 more cases than the province reported the week before.

Though case numbers may have increased this week, the volume of lab tests decreased to 2,882 people a day and the test positivity rate dropped to 13.1 per cent.

The province noted that 61 per cent of the new cases were from Winnipeg Regional Health, and 23 per cent were from the Southern Health - Santé Sud Regional Health Authority. The Northern Health Region reported seven per cent of the cases, the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority accounted for five per cent, and the Prairie Mountain Health Authority reported four per cent of the cases.

The surveillance data shows that more than 53 per cent of Manitoba’s total COVID-19 cases were contracted through close contact with other cases, while 1.8 per cent of people got it from travel. For 20.6 per cent of Manitoba’s cases, the source of exposure is still being investigated, and for 24.5 per cent of cases, the cause is unknown.