12 new cases of COVID-19 identified in Manitoba on Tuesday, including 8 from Hutterite colonies

Eight of the 12 new cases of COVID-19 identified in Manitoba on Tuesday involve people from Hutterite colonies, the province says.

"The high case counts are reflective of an outbreak of cases in several Hutterite colonies and some international travel-related cases," the province said in a news release Tuesday.

Investigations into the eight new cases on Hutterite colonies are ongoing, a provincial spokesperson said, but more information will be provided as needed to inform people of any public health risk when investigations are complete.

On Monday, Manitoba's chief public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, said there were a total of 20 COVID-19 cases spread across three different Hutterite colonies in Manitoba, with most linked to a large gathering that took place in Alberta.

There are now a 41 active COVID-19 cases in Manitoba, 30 of which have been identified in the past four days.

The 12 new cases announced Tuesday include seven in the Interlake-Eastern Health region, two cases in the Winnipeg region, two cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region, and one case in the Southern Health region.

A man in his 40s from the Southern Health region who tested positive for COVID-19 is in intensive care.

Seven people in Manitoba have died because of the illness, the last in early May, and 318 have recovered.

The five-day test positivity rate  — a rolling average of the percentage of completed tests that came back as positive — is now 1.03 per cent, up from 0.83 per cent on Monday.

Dr. Roussin has previously said the test positivity rate is among "the most important indicators" public health officials are watching to make decisions about COVID-19 restrictions, and that any number below 1.5 per cent would be considered "very low."

Manitoba revealed its draft proposal for Phase 4 of its reopening plan on Tuesday.

The total number of COVID-19 cases identified in Manitoba since March is now up to 366.

The province completed 1,201 more COVID-19 tests on Monday, bringing the total number of tests performed since early February to 77,551.

Passenger on flights from Australia tested positive

The province also said Tuesday that one of Manitoba's COVID-19 cases involves a passenger who was on flights from Melbourne, Australia to Winnipeg between July 5 and 6.

The province advises affected passengers on the following flights to self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19:

• July 5: Melbourne to Doha, Qatar Airways Flight QR905, rows 39 to 45.
• July 6: Doha to Montreal, Qatar Airways Flight QR763, rows 26 to 32.
• July 6: Montreal to Winnipeg, Air Canada Flight AC8595, rows unknown.