Manitoba sees record 184 new COVID-19 cases, 2 deaths linked to St. Boniface hospital outbreak

Manitoba announced three more deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday and reported 184 new cases of the illness, setting a record for the most cases reported in the province in a single day.

Two of the deaths — a man and a woman both in their 80s — are connected with an outbreak at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, now the deadliest outbreak at a Manitoba hospital since the start of the pandemic. Its first death was announced over the weekend. 

The third death reported Tuesday — a woman in her 60s — is connected with the Parkview Place care home outbreak, which has led to 19 deaths and is the worst care-home outbreak in the province. On Monday, an official with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority confirmed the outbreak now spans most floors inside the care home, with 121 infections between residents and staff. 

At St. Boniface, 22 patients and 10 staff had tested positive as of Monday, the health authority said. The hospital on Tuesday afternoon posted a statement updating that number to 23 patients and 10 staff.

The statement also said a patient died at St. Boniface after being transferred from Victoria General Hospital, where an outbreak announced last week in two of its family medicine units had grown to 38 people as of Tuesday, including 19 patients and 19 staff members. The death associated with the Victoria hospital outbreak was not one of the three deaths announced by the province on Tuesday.

There are now 83 people in Manitoba hospitals with COVID-19 — three more than on Monday — including 15 in intensive care.

The latest deaths bring the total connected with COVID-19 in Manitoba to 58.

The province's current five-day test-positivity rate — a rolling average of the number of COVID-19 tests that come back positive — continued its record-breaking climb, reaching 7.5 per cent on Tuesday, up from 7.1 per cent on Monday. 

Cases keep climbing

The latest numbers come one day after Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin and Chief Nursing Officer Lanette Siragusa warned that rapidly rising COVID-19 cases are putting strain on the province's health system. Also on Monday, Premier Brian Pallister chastised people who do what he referred to as "dumb things," such as holding large gatherings or not being forthcoming with health officials about their contacts with known cases.

Public health officials in Manitoba have been trying for weeks to slow the spread of COVID-19, particularly in the Winnipeg metropolitan area and the Northern Health Region, but case numbers and hospitalizations have continued to set new daily records.

Winnipeg and surrounding communities have been at the restricted, or orange, level on the province's pandemic response system for more than four weeks now. The Northern Health Region moved to that level on Monday, reducing caps on gathering sizes and closing numerous businesses, including entertainment venues and casinos.

The provincial government has more than doubled fines for people who don't abide by public health orders.

Of the 184 new cases announced Tuesday, 144 are in the Winnipeg Health Region, while nine are in the Interlake-Eastern Health Region, eight are in the Northern Health Region, four are in the Prairie Mountain Health Region and 19 are in the Southern Health Region.

This brings the total number of confirmed cases in Manitoba to 4,532 since the start of the pandemic.

The provincial database shows that there are 2,238 active cases and 2,236 people have recovered. However, Roussin has noted that the number of active cases is likely inflated because of a backlog in following up with recovered patients.

On Monday, 1,721 COVID-19 lab tests were completed.

More exposures

Manitoba health officials are warning about a number of new possible exposures to COVID-19:

Cross Lake

• Oct. 18: A funeral in Cross Lake.

Norway House

• Oct. 20: A funeral in Norway House.

Notre Dame de Lourdes:

• Oct. 19 and 22: École Régionale Notre-Dame.

Winnipeg

• Oct. 12 to 14: Gonzaga Middle School.
• Oct. 13 to 15: Glenlawn Collegiate.
• Oct. 13 to 15: Tyndall Park School.
• Oct. 16: Winnipeg Transit Route 71, Sinclair to Aberdeen/Arlington, 4 p.m.
• Oct. 20: Mary Brown's Chicken & Taters, 695-1615 Regent Ave., from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
• Oct. 19, 21, and 22: École Varennes.
• Oct. 19 and 20: Transcona Collegiate.
• Oct. 21 and 22: Collège Louis-Riel.