WINNIPEG The COVID-19 death toll in Manitoba continues to lower as health officials announced one new death on Friday, bringing the total to 838 since the pandemic started. The death is in the Winnipeg area and was a woman in her 40s. The province also added 110 new cases of COVID-19, pushing the total to over 30,000 cases since March 12, 2020. The new total is 30,078. The five-day test positivity rate is six per cent in Manitoba and 3.5 per cent in Winnipeg. Of the new cases, the Northern Health Region had 40, 38 are in the Winnipeg area, 13 are in the Interlake-Eastern Health Region, 11 are in the Southern Health Region, and eight are in the Prairie Mountain Health Region.
CONSIDERING NEW HEALTH ORDERS As cases and test positivity rates continue to stay low, Atwal said the province is looking at all options for the next set of health orders. The current orders in place are set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 12. The level of success we see during the modest reopening will determine the amount we are able to open as these orders expire, said Atwal. We have said before nothing is off the table. That remains the case and consideration is being given to several options. He added how the new orders look all depends on how well Manitobans follow the current orders and he advises people to not skirt the rules.
WINNNIPEG Manitoba is reporting 83 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. The new cases were announced during the province’s COVID-19 teleconference on Tuesday, bringing the total number of lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases to 29,733. One previously announced case was removed due to a data correction. The majority of new cases were in the Northern Health Region, with 53 new cases. The Winnipeg Health Region reported 18 new cases. The Interlake-Eastern Health Region and the Prairie Mountain Health Region each reported five new cases, while the Southern Health Region reported two new cases. Dr. Jazz Atwal, the acting deputy provincial public health officer, noted the province hasn’t seen many cases yet that can be attributed to the decision to relax some public health restrictions on Jan. 23, but said it is still too early.
INCREASING SURGICAL ACTIVITY IN MANITOBA Lanette Siragusa, chief nursing officer with Shared Health, said the hospitalization numbers on Monday are the lowest numbers since Nov. 18. “These numbers represent considerable progress from nearly two months ago when we peaked at 388 hospitalizations and 129 patients in the ICU,” she said. Manitoba completed 1,603 tests for COVID-19 on Sunday. Since February 2020, 478,810 laboratory tests have been completed in Manitoba. Siragusa added there are plans to resume some surgical procedures and increase surgical capacity in Manitoba She said Misericordia Health Centre in Winnipeg will start doing more eye surgeries and pediatric dental procedures today, and added an additional slate of surgeries is “tentatively” being planned for Concordia Hospital, where more orthopedic, spinal, and plastic surgery procedures would be performed.