Nearly 200 more of Manitoba's First Nations people contract COVID-19

WINNIPEG -- Nearly 200 more of Manitoba’s First Nations people have tested positive for COVID-19.

According to the Manitoba First Nations COVID-19 Pandemic Response Coordination Team (PRCT), there were 195 new cases among the province’s First Nation population from Jan. 8 to 11. The PRCT noted that 71 of these cases were from people living on reserve and 124 were from people living off-reserve.

This brings the total number of active cases among the First Nations population to 2,092, which accounts for 61 per cent of Manitoba’s active cases.

Currently, 50 of Manitoba’s First Nations people are in the hospital with COVID-19, eight of which are in the ICU.

The death toll among the province’s First Nations people is 114, which makes up 15 per cent of the total deaths in Manitoba.

The five-day test positivity rate for Manitoba’s First Nations people is notably higher than the province as a whole. Manitoba’s test positivity rate is currently sitting at 10 per cent, while among the First Nations population, it is at 18 per cent.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 6,589 cases of COVID-19 among Manitoba’s First Nations population, as well as 4,382 recoveries.