WINNIPEG -- Nearly three dozen of Manitoba’s health-care workers tested positive for COVID-19 in the same week.

In Manitoba’s COVID-19 and seasonal influenza surveillance report from Feb. 7 to 13, it says that 1,933 health-care workers have contracted the disease since the beginning of the pandemic. This is 35 more cases than the province reported the week before.

According to the report, 1,907 of these workers have recovered from the disease and two workers have died.

In terms of their occupations, about 58 per cent of the 1,933 health-care workers are allied health, health professionals and support staff, and 28.3 per cent are nurses/licensed practical nurses. The report shows that 3.7 per cent of these workers are physicians or physicians in training and two per cent are first responders. For 7.9 per cent of these health-care staff, their occupation is not identified.

As for how these workers got infected with COVID-19, the majority, or approximately 59 per cent, got it from close contact with a known case and 0.8 per cent got it from travel. For 9.6 per cent of cases, the source of infection is still being investigated while for nearly 30 per cent, the cause is unknown. 

The report notes that 332 pregnant Manitobans have contracted COVID-19 throughout the pandemic, which is 11 new cases from the week before. There has also been a total of 187 COVID-19 outbreaks, 99 of which were at long-term care facilities.

From Feb. 7 to 13, there were 520 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba, a decrease of 143 cases from the week before. The volume of lab tests and test positivity rate decreased as well, dropping to an average of 1,618 tests per day and a 5.1 per cent positivity rate.

Of the 520 new cases, 42 per cent were from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and 38 per cent were from the Northern Health Region. The Southern Health - Santé Sud Regional Health Authority reported 12 per cent of the cases, the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority accounted for five per cent, and the Prairie Mountain Health Authority recorded 3 per cent of the cases.

For 52.4 per cent of Manitoba’s total COVID-19 cases, the source of infection was close contact to cases, with the top contact type being household exposure.

Just over one per cent of Manitoba’s COVID-19 cases were contracted through travel-related reasons, while the source of infection for 22.9 per cent of cases is still being investigated. The province said the cause of 23.4 per cent is cases is unknown.

There were no lab-confirmed cases of influenza in Manitoba from Feb. 7 to 13.