Manitoba

3 more deaths, 19 more COVID-19 hospitalizations in Manitoba Tuesday

The number of people in Manitoba hospitals due to COVID-19 rose by 19 to 620, and three more people have died from the illness, according to Tuesday's update on the province's online dashboard.

Total ICU cases dropped by 5 to 102

A COVID-19 unit at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg is shown in a Dec. 8, 2020, file photo. As of Monday, there were 601 COVID-19 patients in hospitals in Manitoba. (Mikaela MacKenzie/The Canadian Press pool)

The number of people in Manitoba hospitals due to COVID-19 rose by 19, to a total of 620, and three more people have died from the illness, according to Tuesday's update on the province's online dashboard.

The number of patients in intensive care units with COVID-19 rose by one on Tuesday to 48. 

The total number of all patients in ICUs — both those with COVID-19 and those being treated for non-COVID-related issues — dropped to 102, down by five from Monday's number.

At a news conference last week, Health Minister Audrey Gordon said the province's maximum ICU capacity was 116, while the pre-pandemic baseline capacity was 72.

Another 847 cases were confirmed by PCR tests on Tuesday, bringing the province's official total since the start of the pandemic to 111,432, with 40,805 active cases reported.

However, the numbers for new and active cases are considered significant undercounts, as most cases are currently going unreported because PCR testing is limited. Cases confirmed at home by rapid tests are not included in the province's official totals.

Of those new cases, 454 are in the Winnipeg Health region, 132 are in Prairie Mountain, 128 are in the Northern Health region, 78 are in Southern Health, 55 are in Interlake-Eastern.

Manitoba's five-day test-positivity rate dipped slightly to 34.2 per cent, from 34.5 per cent on Monday.

On Monday, labs completed 2,623 PCR tests. 

The three deaths reported Tuesday bring the province's death toll to 1,466.

Schools reported 745 student cases and 353 staff cases during the 14-day period ending Jan. 16. That's down from 1,084 student and 398 staff cases in the previous 14-day period ending Jan. 11, the last time the province updated school cases.

As of Sunday, there had been a total 4,980 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Manitoba schools since Sept. 7, 2021, including 3,752 students and 1,228 staff.

Students returned to class after a one-week period of remote learning for all schools following the winter holiday break.

Corrections

  • An earlier version of this story attributed a comment about maximum ICU capacity to Premier Heather Stefanson. In fact, Health Minister Audrey Gordon said the province's maximum ICU capacity was 116.
    Jan 20, 2022 2:23 PM CT