December 8, 2021
COVID-19 Bulletin #538
Watch news conference
Public health is reporting that four new confirmed cases of the B.1.1.529 (omicron) variant have been detected in Manitoba. One individual recently travelled from one of the 10 federally advised countries. The other cases are close contacts and are currently asymptomatic. Public health is conducting aggressive case and contact management. If additional public health risks are assessed and it is deemed necessary to protect the health of others, more information will be released. The total number of omicron cases in Manitoba is five.
The new variants spread the same way as the original COVID-19 virus. Manitobans should continue following public health orders, limit contact with others and focus on the fundamentals to limit the spread of COVID-19 (including variants) and protect yourself and those around you. Be sure to:
- get vaccinated;
- check yourself for symptoms every day;
- stay home when you are sick even if symptoms are only mild;
- get tested if you have symptoms of COVID-19;
- maintain social (physical) distancing;
- wear a mask when social (physical) distancing is not possible;
- wash your hands when social (physical) distancing is not possible; and
- follow all public health advice and direction if you have returned from travel or have been identified as close contact to a case with a variant of concern.
Federal travel restrictions and measures can be found at https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid.
Public health officials advise seven new deaths in people with COVID-19 are being reported today:
- a male in his 80s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Tuesday);
- a female in her 90s from the Southern Health-Santé Sud health region, linked to an outbreak at Third Crossing Manor (reported Tuesday);
- a male in his 70s from the Southern Health-Santé Sud health region (reported Tuesday);
- a female in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Tuesday);
- a male in his 90s from the Southern Health-Santé Sud health region linked to an outbreak at Salem Home personal care home (reported Wednesday);
- a male in his 40s from the Southern Health-Santé Sud health region (reported Wednesday); and
- a female in her 100s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Wednesday
Today's five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 6.4 per cent provincially and 4.4 per cent in Winnipeg. As of 9:30 a.m. today, 271 new cases of the virus have been identified since Monday: 93 cases on Tuesday, Dec. 7; 178 cases today. This includes:
|
Region |
Cases |
|
Interlake-Eastern health region |
22 |
|
Northern health region |
19 |
|
Prairie Mountain Health region |
20 |
|
Southern Health-Santé Sud health region |
127 |
|
Winnipeg health region |
82 |
Three cases have been removed due to data correction. The total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba is 69,113.
There were 178 new cases identified in Manitoba today. Of these, 107 are in individuals who were not fully vaccinated. This includes:
|
Region |
Cases |
Not Fully Vaccinated |
|
Interlake-Eastern health region |
16 |
Five |
|
Northern health region |
Eight |
Six |
|
Prairie Mountain Health region |
16 |
12 |
|
Southern Health-Santé Sud health region |
89 |
62 |
|
Winnipeg health region |
49 |
22 |
Today’s data also shows:
- 1,638 active cases and 66,134 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19;
- 153 Manitobans hospitalized with COVID-19 including 95 people with active COVID-19 as well as 58 people who are no longer infectious;
- a total of 34 Manitoba patients receiving intensive care for COVID-19 including 26 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as eight people who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care;
- 2,875 laboratory tests were completed yesterday bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 1,196,452; and
- the total number of deaths in people with COVID-19 is 1,341.
Outbreaks have been declared at:
- Lions Prairie Manor personal care home, Skyview unit, in Portage la Prairie;
- Misericordia Health Centre, Transitional Care Unit (TCU) C5, in Winnipeg.
The facilities have been moved to Critical (Red) level on the Pandemic Response System.
Outbreaks have been declared over at:
- J. R. Reid School, Grade 4 class;
- Benito Personal Care Home.
Vaccine
Eligibility for first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine includes anyone ages five or older. A third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is now available to all adults a minimum of six months after their last dose with limited exceptions. More information is available at https://manitoba.ca/covid19/vaccine/eligibility-criteria.html#third.
A total of 2,221,246 doses of vaccine have been administered in Manitoba, including 32,500 first doses given to children ages five to 11. This represents 26 per cent of children in that age group. As of today, 82.6 per cent of all eligible Manitobans ages five and up have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 77.8 per cent have received two doses. Manitoba’s online vaccine dashboard will be updated in the coming days to include updated statistics about this demographic as well as third doses.
Many Manitoba vaccine sites are offering walk-in and appointment-based vaccinations for COVID and seasonal flu. Eligible individuals can book their appointments online or by calling (toll-free) 1-844-626-8222 (1-844-MAN-VACC). For hours and days of operation, visit www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/vaccine/finder.html.
The Manitoba government is also providing an update on ongoing enforcement efforts to protect Manitobans from the spread of COVID-19. A total of 26 warnings and nine tickets were issued for the week of Nov. 29 to Dec. 5 including:
- three $1,296 tickets to individuals;
- five $298 tickets to individuals for failure to wear a mask in an indoor public place; and
- one $5,000 ticket to a business.
Manitobans are urged to continue reporting compliance and enforcement issues by visiting www.manitoba.ca/COVID19 and completing the reporting form or by calling 204-945-3744 or (toll-free) 1-866-626-4862 and pressing option three on the call menu. Updated enforcement statistics are posted online weekly at: https://manitoba.ca/openmb/infomb/departments/index.html#cdr.
Additional online resources are available on the following topics:
- vaccine campaign in Manitoba at www.manitoba.ca/vaccine and https://protectmb.ca.
- possible exposure locations by region at www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/updates/flights.html#event
- data related to COVID-19, variants of concern, outbreaks and some downloadable and historic data at https://geoportal.gov.mb.ca/.
- up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Manitoba at www.manitoba.ca/COVID19.
- 30 -