Woman in her 40s among 7 deaths reported over the last 3 days in Manitoba

More than half of the deaths linked to COVID-19 in Manitoba over the last three days — including a woman in her 40s — live in the Southern Health region, the province said in a news bulletin on Monday.

There were 459 new COVID-19 cases reported over three days in the province: 164 cases identified on Saturday, 159 on Sunday and 136 on Monday.

The seven deaths include a man in his 80s linked to the outbreak at Third Crossing Manor reported on Saturday.

There were four deaths reported on Sunday: the woman in her 40s from the Southern Health region, a woman in her 70s from the Interlake-Eastern health region, a woman in her 60s from the Winnipeg health region and a man in his 50s from Winnipeg linked to the outbreak at Health Sciences Centre's GD4 unit. All but the woman in her 40s are linked to an unspecified coronavirus variant.

On Monday, two deaths in the Southern Health region were reported — a man and a woman in their 80s. The man's death is linked to an unspecified variant.

Amber Meadow, a retirement home in Winnipeg, said in a letter to families on Sunday that two people have died. They are linked to an outbreak that was announced on Thursday.

A total of 26 residents have tested positive for COVID-19, the letter says.

"We are grateful that our community has a high vaccination rate that we believe is keeping the outbreak to a minimum," said Cam Johnson, the regional vice-president of Atria Retirement, which owns Amber Meadow.

It's not clear if the deaths or the cases are reflected in the data released by the province on Monday.

The total number of deaths caused by the disease is now 1,292. There are currently 1,528 active cases of COVID-19 and 64,006 people have recovered.

Of the cases announced Monday, just over half were in people who haven't been fully vaccinated:

• 33 of 45 new cases in Southern Health.
• 12 of 30 new cases in the Winnipeg Health Region.
• Five of 30 new cases in the Northern Health Region.
• 12 of 20 new cases in Prairie Mountain Health.
• Nine of 11 new cases in Interlake-Eastern.

The provincial test positivity rate rose from 5.2 per cent on Friday to 5.7 per cent on Monday. In Winnipeg, the rate is 2.9 per cent.

There were 2,549 tests done on Sunday.

There are 152 Manitobans in hospital with COVID-19, down two since Friday. 

There are now 89 patients in intensive care units in the province, 24 of them COVID-19 patients. Manitoba's pre-pandemic baseline capacity was 72 ICU beds.

A total of 107 of the 152 COVID-19 patients in hospital have active infections, and of those, 56 hadn't received a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, six were partly vaccinated and 45 are fully vaccinated.

Among the 18 people in ICU who still have active COVID-19 infections (six of the 24 people in ICU no longer have active COVID-19), 14 hadn't received a single dose and four were fully vaccinated.

Breakthrough infections

Although it's mostly unvaccinated people in hospital, there are some breakthrough infections where fully vaccinated people experience severe outcomes.

Dr. Joss Reimer, the medical lead of the vaccine implementation task force, said the province is starting to see more elderly people and those with multiple health conditions who are fully vaccinated end up in hospital and ICU because their immunity is waning.

"That's why we're recommending the booster dose in particular for people who are over the age of 70 as well as people who have one of the list of many health conditions that we have on our website, because we know that they're still somewhat protected but less than they were after the original two doses," she said.

Last week, the province said it was almost finished administering third doses to people in Manitoba personal care homes who consented.

All Manitobans over 18 are eligible for a booster shot. Most healthy people should book their appointment at least six months after their last dose.

Outbreaks reported

Five new outbreaks have been reported in health-care facilities in Manitoba, the news release said.

There are outbreaks at Manitoba Developmental Centre's Lawnside unit in Portage la Prairie, Village View Lodge assisted living in Plumas and Country Meadows personal care home in Neepawa.

In Winnipeg, there are outbreaks at Holy Family Home and Grace Hospital's 4 North surgery unit.

The affected units and homes have been moved to the critical red level in the province's colour-coded pandemic response system.