COVID cases in North high but stabilizing: officials

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This article was published 28/01/2021 (1882 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

New COVID-19 cases and test positivity in the Winnipeg region dipped to levels not seen since October, as Manitoba reported 133 infections and eight more pandemic deaths.

On Thursday, public health officials said 29 new cases of COVID-19 were detected in the Winnipeg health region, while the five-day positivity rate for the city sat at 5.4 per cent.

Based on the province’s pandemic response system dashboard, the last time the city reported fewer than 29 cases in a single day was Oct. 17, when the provincewide test positivity rate was 4.7 per cent.

Manitoba only began regularly reporting Winnipeg’s test positivity rate prior to declaring code red in the capital Nov. 2. The most recent stretch of declining positivity rates in the region is the lowest in the public record.

“Our case counts are coming down, right across the board,” acting deputy chief provincial public health officer Dr. Jazz Atwal said Thursday. “Even in the North, it seems like things are stabilizing and coming down.”

However, Atwal said, more time needs to pass before officials will know if the recent easing of restrictions will alter the downward trajectory.

“These orders are in effect for three weeks, and we’re going to be looking at blocks of between and two and four weeks going forward there afterwards,” he said.

“We’ll have a better idea in relation to the landscape at that time, in relation to the cases, all those other indicators we look at… before we look at where these restrictions go (next).”

Of the eight Manitobans to most recently die of COVID-19, six were residents in long-term care.

Thursday’s list included: a Winnipeg woman in her 60s; a woman in her 70s connected to an outbreak at Southeast care home (Winnipeg); a woman in her 80s connected to an outbreak at Heritage Life care home (Niverville); a woman in her 80s linked to an outbreak at Beausejour Hospital; a woman in her 90s linked to an outbreak at St. Norbert care home (Winnipeg); two women in their 90s connected to an outbreak at Charleswood Care Centre (Winnipeg); and a woman in her 90s at Convalescent Home of Winnipeg.

The province’s COVID-19 death toll was at 821.

New cases were reported in all regions: 61 in Northern Health, 19 in Prairie Mountain, 17 in Interlake-Eastern, and seven in Southern Health.

The five-day test positivity rate for Manitoba was 8.7 per cent, the lowest since Nov. 3.

On Wednesday, provincial labs performed 2,263 tests.

Of the new cases in the North, Atwal said 41 were from First Nations communities, a number were identified in Thompson, a couple in The Pas, with others were scattered throughout.

On Thursday, Shared Health chief nursing officer Lanette Siragusa said 37 patients were receiving intensive care treatment related to COVID-19. In total, 277 were in hospital due to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

“The numbers are coming down. It’s looking positive,” Siragusa said.

“It feels like it’s not happening as fast the number of active cases are decreasing, but they will catch up over time. So we need to get a couple of weeks, probably, before the numbers reflect the active cases that we’re seeing.”

Siragusa also provided an update on the asymptomatic surveillance testing pilot program at three Manitoba long-term care homes.

She said the program continues to offer swabs to employees of Deer Lodge, Country Meadows (Neepawa) and Donwood Manor on a weekly basis.

As of last Thursday, 1,422 tests had been performed since mid-December. Three positive results were returned.

“Not all of them had direct patient care, but still it doesn’t matter, it’s such a contagious virus that I think that the fact that we caught three is good,” Siragusa said. “And the fact that it didn’t spread to the residents… it’s a good news story.”

Siragusa said an announcement is expected as early as next week regarding further expansion of the program. Public health officials have been in conversation with long-term care operators about the resource demands and the benefits of such programs.

“As you know, it’s been really busy in the PCHs, and we don’t want to take away from patient care, but we do also want to make sure that we provide that extra layer of safety for them,” Siragusa said.

An outbreak was declared at St. Paul’s Personal Care Home in The Pas. An outbreak at Samaritan House Ministries in Brandon has ended.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca