Manitoba COVID hospital admissions increasing

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This article was published 21/04/2022 (1421 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are still on the rise in Manitoba.

For the third consecutive week, Manitoba recorded an increase in the number of hospitalizations caused by severe infections of the virus, even as the limited number of lab tests and wastewater data suggest transmission is decreasing.

Last week, 206 Manitobans were hospitalized with COVID-19; 22 of those patients needed intensive care. That’s an increase of 29 patients over the previous week and an increase of three ICU admissions. Twelve people died last week, up from five the previous week.

The provincial government released the data in a weekly epidemiological report Thursday. It shows severe infections have been on the rise for nearly a month, as of April 16. COVID-19 hospitalizations have been increasing week over week since March 20.

The rise in hospitalizations is no surprise to front-line doctors and nurses, considering the explosion of BA2 variant cases, said Dr. Eric Jacobsohn, a Winnipeg anesthesiologist and ICU physician who currently has COVID-19 himself.

The hospitalization figures are “probably not unexpected considering how ubiquitous this infection has become. We all know someone (who’s been infected), Jacobsohn said.

If wastewater data shows a continued decline in COVID-19 presence, it’s likely Manitoba is nearing the peak of ICU admissions — but any patient increase is still a strain in a health system that is already stretched thin. There aren’t enough redundancy plans or staffing in place, Jacobsohn said.

“The answer to that is an unequivocal no,” he said. “We remain in a profoundly embarrassing position.”

Health-care workers are getting infected or reinfected as the most recent subvariant continues to spread. Workers who test positive have to remain off work for at least seven days; if they don’t have an earlier negative test result, they have to isolate for 10 days.

Jacobsohn said he’s had to miss ICU shifts and surgeries while he’s been off sick.

“Cases like this have a huge implication for the health-care system,” he said.

He became infected after attending a large event at which masks were not mandatory. It would make sense, Jacobsohn said, to bring back mask requirements for large groups and ensure proper ventilation.

“To leave the decision to individuals is very problematic,” he said.

The majority of positive COVID-19 cases are no longer publicly reported because PCR testing is restricted. The number of Manitobans getting PCR tests, and receiving positive results, is declining, the provincial data shows.

There were 1,190 lab-confirmed positive tests, down from 1,694 the previous week, and the daily number of people getting tested also decreased, from an average of 1,166 to an average of 951.

Winnipeg wastewater data as of April 7, the most recently available data released by the federal government, shows consistent COVID-19 presence in the city, but it appears to be on the decline.

katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com