Rising COVID-19 hospital admissions, cases reported in Manitoba

Manitoba's latest COVID-19 update reports increasing hospitalizations and case numbers, as well as six more deaths in the province last week.

The numbers for the week of March 27 to April 2, released on Thursday, say 141 people were admitted to hospital with the coronavirus, an increase from 111 admitted the previous week.

Manitoba also reported an increase in new cases, with 1,359 cases confirmed by polymerase chain reaction testing, the only kind of test tracked by the province.

That marks an increase of 380, or 39 per cent, over the 979 cases reported the week before.

Case counts reported by the province significantly undercount the true number of infections in the province, due to limited access to PCR testing. The province does not track rapid test results.

Last month, the provincial government stopped updating the various online dashboards it had used to keep the public informed about COVID-19, instead posting only weekly updates with some numbers. It also changed the definition of a COVID-19 death.

Instead of reporting the total number of patients in hospital, the province now gives weekly snapshots of how many people were admitted.

There were 11 patients admitted to intensive care units last week, five fewer than the week before.

The total number of people in ICU on Thursday, including non-COVID patients, increased five from yesterday to 92. 

The province's test positivity rate was 18.6 per cent, an increase from 13.9 per cent, the weekly report said.

Among all Manitobans, 79.2 per cent of people are fully vaccinated and 82.8 per cent have had at least one dose as of March 31, while 42.1 per cent had received a booster dose.

According to the report, people who are unvaccinated are 3.5 times more likely to end up in hospital, 6.2 times more likely to end up in an ICU, and 6.3 times more likely to die, than people who have had three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

There were seven COVID-19 outbreaks in Manitoba last week, all of them in long-term care facilities. The week before, the province reported one outbreak.

The province has recorded a total of 1,751 COVID-19 deaths. 

Manitoba's average daily testing rate last week was 1,081.

COVID-19 transmission on the rise in Manitoba

3 years ago

Duration 2:17

COVID-19 transmission and hospital admissions in Manitoba have increased since public health orders were lifted. But the government has no plans to bring back restrictions. Manitoba's chief public health officer Doctor Brent Roussin expects COVID transmission will keep rising.