4 more deaths, 349 new COVID-19 cases in Manitoba on Saturday

Saturday's numbers come after Manitoba shattered its previous record of daily reported cases on Friday with 480 new cases, and the province announced new pandemic restrictions coming Monday.

One death linked to outbreak at Maples Personal Care Home

Rachel Bergen · CBC News · Posted: Oct 31, 2020 1:32 PM EDT | Last Updated: November 1, 2020

The province announced four more COVID-19-related deaths Saturday, including that of a woman in her 90s connected with an outbreak at the Maples Personal Care Home. (Travis Golby/CBC)

Manitoba announced 349 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, along with four more deaths related to the illness.

That brings the total number of COVID-19-related deaths in the province to 69, and the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 5,723.

One of the deaths — a woman in her 90s — is linked to an outbreak at Maples Personal Care Home in Winnipeg. The other people in Winnipeg who died are a woman in her 50s, a man in his 60s and a man in his 80s. The province announced the two men's deaths in a later news release on Saturday night, while the two women's deaths were announced in its regular afternoon update.

There are now 107 people in hospital with COVID-19 in Manitoba, including 20 in intensive care, the province said in its second update on Saturday evening. That data wasn't available earlier in the day due to data processing issues, according to the province's afternoon news release.

The information provided in the later news release will be updated on the province's online dashboard on Sunday, the release said.

The Maples care home has the second-largest current outbreak in Manitoba. It had led to 92 cases as of Friday, including 77 residents and 15 staff.

Of the new cases, 231 are in the Winnipeg health region, 35 are in the Northern Health region, 34 are in Southern Health, 33 are in the Interlake-Eastern region and 16 are in Prairie Mountain Health.

Manitoba's five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate was 8.7 per cent on Saturday. In Winnipeg, that rate was 9.9 per cent. (Bryce Hoye/CBC)

The new cases announced Saturday were identified over the last several days, but weren't announced until now due to a backlog, the province said.

There were 3,010 active cases reported Saturday, but the province has recently said that number may also be inflated due to reporting backlogs. Meanwhile, 2,646 people have now recovered from COVID-19 in the province since the start of the pandemic.

The province confirmed on Saturday morning that intensive care units remain at 96 per cent capacity.

Manitoba more than doubles daily COVID-19 record with 480 new cases

Widespread closures in Winnipeg as region moves to code red, rest of Manitoba to orange on Monday

The latest numbers come after Manitoba set a new record Friday, with 480 new cases reported. Those cases were also identified over several days.

Officials also announced new restrictions coming into effect across the province Monday, including moving the Winnipeg metropolitan region to the highest level — red, or critical — on the province's pandemic response system.

Cars line up at the Main Street drive-thru COVID-19 test site in Winnipeg in this Oct. 14 photo. Starting Monday, the Winnipeg metropolitan area will move to red, or critical, level on the province's pandemic response system. The rest of the province will be at the orange, or restricted, level. (Lyzaville Sale/CBC)

That means many businesses and facilities will close, including bars and restaurant dining rooms, movie theatres and concert halls. Most retail outlets will be reduced to 25 per cent capacity.

The rest of the province will be at the orange, or restricted, level as of Monday.

The current five-day test positivity rate — a rolling average of the number of COVID-19 tests that come back positive — is 8.7 per cent for Manitoba. The rate for Winnipeg is 9.9 per cent, but the province cautioned that number may be less reliable due to the smaller sample size.

A previously announced new drive-thru COVID-19 testing site opened Saturday at the Manitoba Public Insurance building at 125 King Edward St. in Winnipeg.

The site will operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, performing up to 400 tests per day once fully established.