Manitoba COVID-19 hospitalizations continue decline in latest update

Manitoba's COVID-19 death toll increased by 15 in the latest weekly public health update.

There have now been 1,928 confirmed deaths related to the coronavirus in Manitoba since the start of the pandemic. 

Hospitalizations continued to decline.

There were 112 hospital admissions from May 15 to 21, a decrease from 149 the previous week. There were 21 admissions to intensive care units, including a child under 10.

Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin said last week that hospitalizations and ICU admissions in this wave of the pandemic appeared to have peaked.

Laboratory tests confirmed 537 new cases of COVID-19, a decrease from 728 the week before. However, case counts reported by the province undercount the true number of infections, due to strictly limited access to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, the only type of test the province records. Rapid test results are not tracked.

The province's test-positivity rate dropped to 15.4 per cent, from 18.5 per cent the previous week.

Average daily testing volumes dropped last week, to 704 tests per day from 766.

There were seven outbreaks, three in long-term care facilities and four in health-care centres:

• Seven Oaks Hospital, floor 5, units 1 to 3.
• Health Sciences Centre, WRS3.
• Health Sciences Centre, SICU.
• Health Sciences Centre, RR5.
• Whitemouth Personal Care Home.
• St. Norbert Personal Care Home.
• Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre, first floor.

Almost four people per day (3.9) died with COVID-19 between Jan. 1 and May 14, nearly double the number in the same calendar period in 2021, when the number was 2.1.

Roussin said last week that it is difficult for the province to distinguish between deaths that were caused by COVID-19 and those that were incidental, because public health is not investigating cases the way it used to.