Southern Health region accounts for more than half of Manitoba's new COVID-19 cases

WINNIPEG -

Manitoba has recorded 92 COVID-19 cases on Thursday – more than half of which have been identified in the Southern Health region.

The province said of these new COVID-19 cases, 56 people were not vaccinated, nine had been partially vaccinated and 27 were fully vaccinated.

Of the 92 new cases, 47 were reported in the Southern Health region, including 34 who had not been fully vaccinated. The region currently has the lowest vaccine uptake among eligible residents – sitting at 67.5 per cent.

It is more than 13 percentage points below the rest of the Manitoba health regions in terms of vaccination rates.

CTV News has previously reported that 83 direct-care workers in the region have been placed on unpaid leave for refusing to be vaccinated or undergo regular COVID-19 testing, according to Shared Health.

READ MORE: Direct-care workers on unpaid leave grows, majority in Southern Health region

The other cases reported Thursday include:

• Two cases in the Interlake-Eastern health region, both not fully vaccinated;
• 21 cases in the Northern health region, including 15 not fully vaccinated;
• Seven cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region, including five not fully vaccinated; and
• 15 cases in the Winnipeg health region, including nine not fully vaccinated.

These new cases bring Manitoba's total to 62,469 cases since the start of the pandemic – including 926 active cases and 60,308 recoveries.

The five-day test positivity rate is 3.2 per cent in Manitoba, and 1.3 per cent in Winnipeg.

HOSPITALIZATIONS

The province said 87 Manitobans are in hospital with COVID-19 as of Thursday – this includes 56 people who have active cases. Of the active cases, 42 are not vaccinated, two are partially vaccinated, and 12 are fully vaccinated.

The hospitalizations include 20 people who are in ICU with COVID-19 – 17 of whom have active cases and three who are no longer infectious but still need critical care. Of the active ICU cases, 10 are not vaccinated, one is partially vaccinated, and six are fully vaccinated.

NO NEW DEATHS REPORTED THURSDAY

No new deaths were reported on Thursday, though the province did provide details on deaths previously this week.

Three deaths reported on Tuesday include a woman in her 90s from the Prairie Mountain Health Region, a man in his 50s from the Northern health region, and a woman in her 60s from Winnipeg. The province also reported the death of a man in his 80s from the Southern Health region on Wednesday.

All four of these deaths have been linked to unspecified variants of concern.

The number of people who have died with COVID-19 in Manitoba remains at 1,235.