WINNIPEG -- Manitoba health officials have identified one new case of COVID-19 in the province, noting five recently announced cases have been linked to travel.
Dr. Brent Roussin, the province’s chief provincial public health officer, made the announcement Monday afternoon.
Roussin said the new case was a man in his 40s from the Southern Health Region.
“The investigation is ongoing, but this is related to travel, this is a truck driver,” he said.
Roussin said the testing for the case occurred in Ontario.
With the new case, there have been 314 cases of the virus in Manitoba since March.
Roussin also provided additional information about the cases announced on Friday and over the weekend.
One case on Friday was a male in his 40s from Winnipeg, and is travel-related. Roussin said the patient is a truck driver.
Later on Friday, two additional cases were identified in a man and woman in their 50s in the Southern Health Region. Roussin said both cases were travel-related and related to a known case. Health officials said one of the people who tested positive went to JT's Store and Diner, located on 40 Penner Dr. in Blumenort, on June 10 around 6 p.m.
They said the person was symptomatic at the time, but the province said the risk of exposure remains low.
“We have been notified the premise had social distancing measures in place, but we just wanted to ensure that Manitobans were aware of the potential contact,” said Roussin.
Roussin said fines have not been ruled out for the person who visited the store without showing symptoms, but said the province prefers to educate people about the health risks of COVID-19.
“Most Manitobans are knowing that we’re in this together, and that things like stigma and fear isn’t what is going to get us through it,” he said. “It’s working together.
“In these cases, we’d much prefer trying to work with the individual, get cooperative contact investigation. We need further self-isolation because of their cases. We find in public health, we’re much better able to protect the health of Manitobans through cooperation with people, rather than levying fines.”
Saturday’s cases were a man in his 30s and a woman in her 20s, both from Winnipeg. The man was a truck driver, Roussin said. An investigation into the female’s case is ongoing, but Roussin said the positive result came from an asymptomatic test.
There are currently 14 active cases, and 293 people have recovered from the virus. There are no hospitalizations related to COVID-19, and the total number of deaths in Manitoba remains at seven.
A total of 1,951 tests were performed between Friday and Sunday, bringing the total to 58,221 tests since February.
-With files from CTV's Devon McKendrick.
