Roussin identifies concerning trend amid Manitoba's fourth wave

WINNIPEG -

Manitoba’s top doctor said Manitoba is seeing a concerning trend amid the fourth wave regarding when people are getting tested for COVID-19.

At a news conference on Monday, Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, said a significant number of people are only testing positive for COVID-19 upon admission to the hospital.

“So most people have been ill for seven to 10 days before they require admission to the hospital and now we’re diagnosing them only upon admission,” he said.

Roussin said earlier in the pandemic, the province was able to rely on test counts to get an idea of how many people it could expect to see in the hospital and the ICUs in the coming weeks. He said these predictions are becoming more of a challenge as more people being are being diagnosed with COVID-19 later on in their infection.

As of Monday, there were 1,071 active cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba.

Provincial data shows there are 83 Manitobans in the hospital with COVID-19 – 58 with active cases and 25 who are no longer infectious. Of these hospitalizations, 20 patients are receiving intensive care for COVID-19.