Daily COVID cases jump by highest mark in three weeks

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/03/2021 (1670 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba reported more than 100 new COVID-19 infections on Friday — the first time the province has cracked triple digits in nearly three weeks — as health officials alerted the public about a significant outbreak linked to a church in rural Manitoba.

The increase in cases came on the same day Manitoba’s chief public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, announced public health orders related to outdoor dining and church services will be loosened.

Beginning Saturday, restaurants will be permitted to seat up to six people from different households at the same table as long as it is on a patio.

“Outdoor, we know, is much less risky. We already have outdoor group sizes of 10,” Roussin said. “So I think this is a good opportunity for Manitobans, where they’re still quite limited, this just might be something that adds a little bit of extra hope but doesn’t add a lot of risk.”

As well, people who attend places of worship will no longer have to wear a mask while they are seated with their household members as long as they are distanced from others and don’t sing.

“The recommendation is wear your mask whenever possible because again, taking (off) and putting on the mask adds risk as well,” Roussin said.

The modification to the mask rule was the result of a 50-minute conference call that involved Roussin and about two dozen religious leaders on Thursday evening, a government source confirmed.

During that call, Daniel Bahuaud, communications co-ordinator for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Boniface, said Roussin was asked to clarify rules about wearing masks in places of worship, as the public health orders of Feb. 13 and March 5 had different wording related to religious services.

Church outbreak connected to second church case

On Friday, the province declared a COVID-19 outbreak at St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Sarto, south of Steinbach.

Anyone who attended the church or any events connected to the church on Feb. 21 should get tested if they have COVID-19 symptoms, public health officials said.

Roussin said the outbreak is significant with at least 10 confirmed cases and many more contacts. Two people connected to the outbreak have been hospitalized.

It is also connected to a recent COVID-19 exposure at St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Winnipeg. People who were at the church on March 4 between 11 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. may have been exposed to the virus.

Public health has told as many as 40 people to go into self-isolation following the exposure at St. Andrew’s.

Meanwhile, 104 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed Friday and one more pandemic death was added to the totals on the one year anniversary of the case being found in the province.

A Winnipeg woman in her 80s, connected to an outbreak at Convalescent Home of Winnipeg, has died. Manitoba’s death toll was 912 as of Friday.

Northern Health had 51 new infections followed by Winnipeg with 37 cases. Interlake-Eastern reported six and both Southern Health and Prairie Mountain Health reported five.

The five-day positivity rate was 4.1 per cent provincially and three per cent in Winnipeg. Laboratories processed 2,195 COVID-19 swabs on Thursday.

“Our case numbers are very slowly creeping up… we need to stay on guard.”–Dr. Brent Roussin

“Our case numbers are very slowly creeping up,” Roussin said. “We’re a year into this, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise.

“At the same time, we’re rolling out the vaccine, we’re protecting more and more of those most vulnerable in Manitoba, so as we see increasing case numbers, we want to see a declining proportion of those that are severe outcomes,” Roussin said.

“We need to stay on guard.”

One additional case of the B.1.1.7 variant of concern has been confirmed in Manitoba and is related to travel, public health officials said. The total number of cases caused by a variant of concern is 23.

On Friday, 154 patients were admitted to hospital to be treated for COVID-19, including 22 people in intensive care.

The province has adjusted its total active case count to better reflect the number of people who have recovered. As of Friday, there were 872 people with active COVID-19 infections in Manitoba.

The outbreak at Red River Place Personal Care Home in Selkirk has concluded.

— with files from Brenda Suderman

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca