Province reports 18 new highly contagious-strain COVID cases

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This article was published 15/03/2021 (1830 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

More than 20 per cent of Manitoba’s highly contagious COVID-19 variant cases have no known origin.

The majority of cases involving local variants of concern have spread via close contacts, but nine of the total 41 cases haven’t been connected to any other case, the province announced Monday.

The increase in highly contagious COVID-19 variants has the province’s top doctor pledging more aggressive contact tracing and case investigations, but no changes to either have been announced.

On Monday, chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin reported 18 additional cases caused by the B.1.1.7 variant (first detected in the U.K.): 17 in Winnipeg and one in the Interlake-Eastern Health Region.

The total number of confirmed cases involving the U.K. variant, and one that originated in South Africa, reached 41.

Twenty-two of those spread via close contacts, nine via travel, and one result is pending. Public health officials haven’t been able to determine how nine other Manitobans contracted variants of concern, which indicates community spread.

Case investigations for those unknown cases continue, a provincial spokesperson said.

“We are really getting aggressive with our case and contact investigation. We are going to be treating most cases as if they were variants of concern until proven otherwise. Because we really want to do what we can to limit the transmission, while at the same time, you know, trying to loosen other public health measures… that have been in place for so long now,” Roussin said.

Nineteen of the 41 variant cases were still active. Manitoba recently began retroactively screening positive test results dating to the beginning of February to look for variants of concern, which are known to be more contagious but not necessarily more deadly.

Roussin said Monday he was not aware of any hospitalizations or deaths in Manitoba due to such variants.

Manitoba tightened self-isolation rules and its definition of close contacts Feb. 22, in an effort to prevent variants from spreading and track down more people who may have been exposed.

Someone can be considered a close contact after 10 minutes in proximity to a positive case (instead of 15 minutes), and close contacts and their household members have to isolate for two weeks. The province confirmed Monday it hasn’t made any other changes to its contact tracing or case investigation processes.

Meanwhile, 50 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Manitoba, but no new deaths linked to the pandemic.

Thirty-one cases were in Winnipeg, 16 in Northern Health, and three in Southern Health. No new cases were reported in Interlake-Eastern or Prairie Mountain.

The five-day provincial test-positivity rate was 4.8 per cent (the highest since Feb. 23) and 3.5 per cent in Winnipeg. Just 1,516 COVID-19 tests were performed Sunday at provincial labs.

On Monday, 151 people were in hospital being treated for COVID-19, including 23 in intensive care. Of those, 56 are still considered infectious.

The province’s pandemic death toll stayed at 917.

Outbreaks at Poseidon Care Centre in Winnipeg, Heritage Life in Niverville, and Valleyview in Brandon have concluded.

On Monday, the province announced expanded eligibility criteria for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Individuals who are 77 or older, and First Nations people 57 or older, can now book an appointment to be vaccinated.

Eligibility criteria for select health-care and congregate living employees has also been expanded to include the following:

Workers who may or may not provide direct patient care, working in outpatient health-care settings including clinics, diagnostic imaging, laboratories, patient transport, blood donor centres, surgical centres, elderly day programs and home-based care (no age restrictions).

People working in congregate living facilities (no age restrictions).

Roussin announced he is scheduled to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine Friday.

— with files from Danielle Da Silva

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca