Manitoba reports highest single-day COVID-19 case count in almost 6 months

There were 539 cases and six new COVID-19 deaths reported over the past three days in Manitoba, a news release from the provincial government says, including 211 cases on Sunday.

The Sunday total is the highest daily case count in almost six months. The last time the number was higher was June 12, when 294 cases were reported.

There were 191 new cases on Saturday and 137 Monday. The seven-day average daily case count in Manitoba is now almost 159, up 29 from 130 on Friday.

The current five-day test positivity rate in Manitoba is 6.3 per cent, up from 5.1 per cent Friday. 

There were two deaths reported Saturday: a man in his 50s and a man in his 60s, both from the Southern Health region. Both deaths are linked to an outbreak at the Manitoba Developmental Centre, the news release says.

There are still 16 active COVID-19 cases at the centre, a residential care facility for adults with intellectual disabilities in Portage la Prairie. 

There have been a total of 20 cases linked to the outbreak at the Manitoba Developmental Centre, the online coronavirus data website says: seven in staff and 13 in non-staff. Two people have recovered.

The deaths reported Sunday were a woman in her 100s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to an outbreak at the Grace Hospital surgery unit, and a man in his 60s and a woman in her 80s, both from the Southern Health region. 

There was one death reported Monday: a man in his 70s from the Prairie Mountain Health region.

The total number of deaths in Manitoba due to the coronavirus is now 1,334.

The Winnipeg health region had the highest number of new cases over the last three days, with 186, and the Southern Health region had 176 new cases.

The Northern Health Region had 79 new cases over three days, and the Prairie Mountain and Interlake-Eastern health regions each had 49 new cases over three days.

An outbreak has been declared in the Skyview unit of the Lions Prairie Manor personal care home in Portage la Prairie. The facility has been moved to the critical (red) level of the province's pandemic response system.

No cases of the B.1.1.529 or omicron variant have been detected in Manitoba at this time, and all positive travel-related specimens are being sequenced, the province says.

As of Monday, 152 Manitobans are hospitalized with COVID-19, an increase of 11 since Friday, including 30 in intensive care, an increase of seven.

As of midnight Sunday, there were 90 patients in intensive care, including both COVID and non-COVID patients, 18 more than the pre-pandemic baseline of 72 patients, a provincial spokesperson said.

Among those in hospital with active COVID-19, 64 are unvaccinated, 35 are fully vaccinated and four are partly vaccinated.

When looking at those in ICU with active COVID-19, 22 are unvaccinated and two are fully vaccinated.