Three COVID-19 deaths recorded in Manitoba, 77 cases since Saturday

WINNIPEG -

Manitoba health officials announced three new deaths related to COVID-19 on Monday.

The deaths were all people in their 60s, two of which were women, one from the Prairie Mountain Health Region and one from Winnipeg.

The third death was a man from the Interlake-Eastern Health Region and his death is being linked to the Alpha variant.

The province has had 1,187 COVID-19 deaths.

Since Saturday, Manitoba also recorded 77 new cases of COVID; 24 on Saturday, 20 on Sunday, and 33 on Monday.

Four previously announced cases were also removed due to a data correction and there have been 58,049 cases since March 2020.

The five-day test positivity rate is 1.8 per cent province-wide and 1.4 per cent in Winnipeg.

To date, Manitoba has 591 active cases, while 56,271 people have recovered.

There are 69 people in hospital due to COVID-19, 15 of which have active cases.

Manitoba ICUs have 12 people requiring care, two of which have active COVID.

On Sunday, 1,380 tests were performed, bringing the total to 897,858 since February 2020. 

COVID-19 IN YOUNGER MANITOBANS

During a news conference on Monday, Dr. Jazz Atwal, the deputy chief provincial public health officer, was asked if there is concern within the province if COVID-19 will turn into a disease that affects the younger population more, specifically those who can't be vaccinated yet.

Atwal said this is something the province continues to monitor and public health is also learning from other jurisdictions.

"There is always concern when we are generating cases. It's one thing to generate a case, we're paying particular attention to those severe outcomes and what that means, in relation to younger individuals getting an infection," said Atwal.

With the concerns of a possible fourth wave as well, Atwal said those who aren't vaccinated will likely be the ones who are impacted the most. He said officials are working on ways to mitigate COVID-19 among younger people, while also ensuring child development isn’t affected in the process.

He said to ensure Manitoba has the most success when dealing with a fourth wave, people who are eligible need to get vaccinated and that will help prevent the spread to those who can't receive the vaccine right now.