WINNIPEG -- Provincial health officials announced no new cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba on Tuesday, but warned this does not mean the risk is reduced.
Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, made the announcement at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon. He also added that 99 people have recovered, meaning there are currently 142 active cases.
There are currently nine people in hospital; four of them are in intensive care. The number of COVID-19 related deaths remains at four.
Cadham Provincial Laboratory tested 365 people on Monday. The lab has performed 17,709 tests since early February.
MANITOBANS NEED TO CONTINUE THEIR EFFORTS: ROUSSIN
Roussin stressed that Manitobans should not interpret current case numbers to mean the risk of COVID-19 is reduced.
"We need to continue our efforts and our social distancing strategies to limit the spread of this virus," said Roussin. "Certainly, this may indicate our efforts may be starting to show effect, but now is not the time to loosen up our struggles."
On Monday, Roussin announced that public health orders are now extended until April 28. A full list of these orders can be found online.
“I’m looking at potentially even later this week at certain operations to enhance these orders,” he said. “This is not the time to lift anything.”
TESTING SITE CHANGES
Lanette Siragusa, the chief nursing officer at Shared Health, announced the community testing site in Brandon is moving to a new drive-thru location.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the site will be located at the Brandon Town Centre, 800 Rosser Ave. Regular hours for the relocated Brandon site will resume Wednesday, operating daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Siragusa also announced the opening of the second Community COVID-19 Testing Site and Assessment Clinic in Winnipeg at Sergeant Tommy Prince Place, 90 Sinclair St.
Starting Wednesday, the site will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week.
She said the new site will assume testing responsibilities from Mount Carmel Clinic, which will return to its mandate of offering primary care services to the community.
PROTECTING CARE HOME RESIDENTS
Siragusa also stressed the importance of controlling the virus in care homes.
"We are very much focused on protecting the health of care home residents," said Saragusa. "A number of measures have been put into place in the last month, including restricted visitor access."
Care homes have limited entertainment, cancelled eating in dining rooms, created new COVID-19 screening protocols and increased cleaning.
Siragusa said she confirmed that the amount of staff in care homes is stable and that they are able to maintain giving proper services.
