163 new cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba, with new records for hospitalizations, test positivity rate

Manitoba continued breaking recently set COVID-19 records on Friday, with the death of another resident at a Winnipeg care home that has become the site of the province's deadliest COVID-19 outbreak.

The death of the man in his 80s connected to Parkview Place brought Manitoba's coronavirus-linked fatalities to 48, the province said in a news release, including 15 Parkview residents.

To date, 108 people connected to the privately owned facility — 82 residents and 26 staff — have contracted the illness, a provincial spokesperson said on Friday.

Manitoba also announced 163 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday — the new second-highest single-day increase in cases. On Thursday, 147 new cases were announced, which was at that point the province's second-highest one-day jump.

Manitoba's five-day test positivity rate — a rolling average of the COVID-19 tests that come back positive — also reached a new high on Friday, at 6.5 per cent, breaking another record set just a day earlier. In Winnipeg, that rate is 7.2 per cent as of Friday, a provincial spokesperson said.

Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin has pointed to the provincial figure as one of the most important indicators of how Manitoba is handling COVID-19, and said a rate of more than three per cent would likely indicate significant community spread.

There are now 51 people in hospital with the illness, which is also a new record. Eight of those people are in intensive care, tying the existing high set last month.

Meanwhile, officials working with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said nearly one-third of First Nations in Manitoba — 20 of 63 — have now had cases of COVID-19. To date, there have been 449 cases among First Nations people living on- and off-reserve in the province, including two who have died.

Outbreaks of COVID-19 have been declared at four more Winnipeg care homes, which have been elevated to red, or critical, on the province's pandemic response system.

Those sites are the Holy Family Home, Concordia Place personal care home, the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre personal care home, and the Maples Long Term Care Home.

An outbreak at the YWCA in Thompson has now spread to 13 people linked to the facility, a provincial spokesperson said on Friday. The site has been housing roughly 25 people experiencing homelessness during the pandemic.

Just under 80 per cent, or 128, of the new cases announced Friday are in the Winnipeg health region, the province's release said. 

There are another 19 new cases in the Southern Health region, eight in the Interlake-Eastern health region, seven in the Northern Health region and one in the Prairie Mountain Health region.

More possible exposures

The province also announced several new possible COVID-19 exposures on Friday. Among the latest sites are:

• Sand Hill Casino in Carberry on Oct. 16 from 8 p.m. to midnight.
• SOUL salon and spa in Brandon on Oct. 13 from 12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Oct. 14 from noon to 8 p.m.
• Yellowquill School in Portage la Prairie from Oct. 13 to 16.
• St. Claude School from Oct. 13 to 16.
• Winnipeg Transit Route 71 from Sinclair to Aberdeen/Arlington on Oct. 16 at 4 p.m.
• École Constable Edward Finney School in Winnipeg on Oct. 19 and 20.
• Technical Vocational High School in Winnipeg on Oct. 16.
• Winnipeg Adult Education Centre on Oct. 7, 13, 19, 20 and 21.
• Cecil Rhodes School in Winnipeg on Oct. 13.
• Busy Bee Day Care Centre in Winnipeg on Oct. 13.
• École Leila North School in Winnipeg from Oct. 13 to 16.
• St. Emile Catholic School from Oct. 13 to 16.
• École Templeton School in Winnipeg on Oct. 13 and 14.
• University of Winnipeg Collegiate on Oct. 13 and 15.
• École Margaret-Underhill in Winnipeg on Oct. 8.
• School bus linked to a Franco-Manitobain School Division site (209 Rue Kenny) on Oct. 9.
• Maples Collegiate on Oct. 14.

More information about possible COVID-19 exposures can be accessed by visiting the province's website and clicking on the link to each region.

One case of the illness previously announced in Manitoba has been removed from the province's total, the release said, bringing the tally of cases identified in Manitoba to 3,935.

On Thursday, the province announced new rules coming for northern Manitoba and schools in both the Winnipeg area and the north. Those measures will take effect on Monday.

That announcement came as Manitoba announced a new record number of deaths linked to the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, and posted what was before today the highest five-day test positivity rate.

To date, 2,032 people in Manitoba are listed as recovered from COVID-19, while 1,855 cases are considered active — though Roussin has said that number is skewed because of a data entry backlog.

Another 2,642 COVID-19 tests were done in Manitoba on Thursday, bringing the total completed in the province since early February to 236,023.

Data on test numbers and the test positivity rate will be unavailable on Saturday because of scheduled system upgrades, the release said. That information is expected to be updated again on Sunday.