There are&nbsp;64&nbsp;new COVID-19 cases in Manitoba on Sunday and the province's death toll linked to the illness has&nbsp;climbed by two&nbsp;since Saturday, its 

Manitoba has now recorded 1,150 COVID-19 deaths, the dashboard says.

The province is no longer issuing coronavirus news releases on weekends, so no further details were provided about the deaths. The dashboard's death total is sometimes adjusted when deaths are removed due to data errors.

The new cases are split between the Winnipeg health region, with 29, the Southern Health region, with 11, the Northern Health Region, with nine, the Prairie Mountain Health region, with eight, and the Interlake-Eastern health region, with seven, the dashboard says.

The update means Manitoba's seven-day case average is now down to 64.

Manitoba's five-day test positivity rate climbed to six per cent, the dashboard says, up from 5.7 on Saturday.

Manitoba reports 48 new COVID-19 cases, lowest single-day jump since March

The last time the province reported fewer cases in a single day was on March 14, when there were 44 new infections.

A healthcare provider performs a COVID-19 test in this undated handout photo. Alberta reported 2,048 new cases on Thursday, the highest single-day total since the pandemic began.

DO NOT REUSE covid test 

A health-care provider does a COVID-19 test through the window of a vehicle.

More mental health issues as young Manitobans struggle to cope with pandemic: emergency doctor

Dr. Jeff Burzynski, a pediatric emergency and intensive care physician at Winnipeg's Children's Hospital, says he's seen an increase in the number of young people showing up at the emergency room for mental health-related problems, like suicide attempts or suicidal thoughts and panic attacks.

Grade 11 student Jordan Dearsley acted in the student-made film Be Positive and participated in and helped organize many of the mental health awareness activities at West Kildonan Collegiate.

Jordan Dearsley

Incoming Grade 12 student Jordan Dearsley says the idea of going back to a classroom full of people in the fall is 'kind of overwhelming.'

There are now 144 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Manitoba, the dashboard says, a drop of eight since Saturday. There are now 42 patients with the illness in intensive care, up by one.

That doesn't include patients who have been transferred out of province for critical care. On Sunday, the number of those patients remained at&nbsp;six, according to a spokesperson with Shared Health. That number has been unchanged since Friday.

Manitoba started moving some of its COVID-19 patients to intensive care units in other regions in mid-May as the province worked to free up space in its strained hospitals.

As of Sunday, 49 per cent of Manitobans 12 and up had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the province's 

 says, while 74.7 per cent had at least one dose.

7 deaths, 145 COVID-19 cases identified in Manitoba as delta variant spreads to all regions

Dr. Jazz Atwal says 40 per cent of Manitoba's cases of the B.1.617.2 variant first seen in India, also called delta, have been in the Winnipeg health region, with another 29 per cent in the Southern Health region and 24 per cent in the Northern Health Region.

Laboratory technologists work to sequence the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus at the BCCDC in Vancouver, British Columbia on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021.

COVID-19 VARIANT GENOME SEQUENCING

A laboratory technologist works to sequence the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Manitoba has now reported a total of 239 cases connected with the delta coronavirus variant.

Manitoba businesses fear provincial wage subsidies tied to vaccinations may be discriminatory

Some Manitoba businesses are balking at the prospect of screening prospective employees on their vaccine status in order to qualify for a provincial wage subsidy.

Jocelyn Burzuik, who owns Sundance Construction, will not be asking her employees about their vaccination status even though she would benefit from the Healthy Hire wage subsidy program.

Jocelyn Burzuik

Jocelyn Burzuik, who owns Sundance Construction, will not be asking her employees about their vaccination status even though she would benefit from Manitoba's Healthy Hire wage subsidy program.

That brings Manitoba even closer to its next reopening plan goal: getting half its eligible population fully vaccinated and three-quarters with at least one dose by Aug. 2.

If that happens by the deadline, the province could see greater capacity limits, increased allowed gatherings sizes and fewer restrictions. If it happens earlier, those changes could come even sooner.

Since the start of the pandemic, 56,417 Manitobans have tested positive for COVID-19, the dashboard says. That includes 54,249 people considered recovered and 1,018 still deemed active.

A health-care worker wearing gloves holds a nasal swab used for COVID-19 tests.

64 new COVID-19 cases reported on Sunday as Manitoba's death toll rises by 2

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