3 more deaths, record-setting 84 new COVID-19 cases announced in Manitoba
All 3 deaths linked to personal care homes in Winnipeg
Manitoba had another record-setting day of COVID-19 numbers on Friday with three more deaths and a new record for daily cases with 84 confirmed infections.
The three deaths are all linked to Winnipeg personal care homes — a woman in her 80s and a woman in her 70s, both linked to the outbreak at Parkview Place, and a woman in her 80s linked to Heritage Lodge.
The outbreak at Parkview Place is now the deadliest in a Manitoba personal care home, with six deaths.
It's the highest number of COVID-19-related deaths announced in a single day in Manitoba, tied with the three deaths announced just two days ago. They bring the total number of COVID-19-related deaths in Manitoba to 30.
The current five-day test positivity rate is 3.1, which also ties with the previous record, set on Aug. 26. There are now 933 active cases in Manitoba, including 804 in Winnipeg.
The province has seen a total of 2,428 cases since the start of the pandemic.
Of the new cases announced Friday, 64 are in the Winnipeg health region, 12 are in the Interlake-Eastern health region, seven are in the Southern Health region and one is in the Prairie Mountain Health region.
Thursday also saw the most tests done in Manitoba in a single day, with 3,196 tests completed, well beyond the previous record of 2,736 set just a day earlier.
The previous highest daily case count was on Aug. 23, when the province announced 72 new cases.
The record-breaking case count comes nearly two weeks after the province elevated Winnipeg's status in the Manitoba pandemic response system to orange, or restricted, in an effort to tamp down steadily rising infection numbers. The orange alert came into effect on Sept. 28.
There are 25 people with COVID-19 in hospital, six of them in intensive care.
The province also announced Friday it is expanding its capacity for testing sites around Winnipeg, where people have experienced hours-long waits to get nasal swabs taken.
Starting this Saturday, the testing site at 2735 Pembina Highway will have added capacity to collect 240 more samples per day, the province said.
A new drive-thru site at 1066 Nairn Ave. will open on Oct. 13, with initial capacity to do up to 200 tests per day, increasing to 400 by Oct. 15.
Public health officials announced two new possible school exposures — one at the University of Winnipeg Collegiate on Sept. 28 and 30, and Oct. 5 and 7; the other at Kleefeld School in Kleefeld, Man., on Oct. 1 and 2.
In both cases, health officials say there is no evidence of in-school transmission or that the infection was acquired at school.
On Friday, the province extended Manitoba's state of emergency — first declared on March 20, near the start of the pandemic — for a period of 30 days. It's been extended every month since April. The state of emergency gives the province more power to enact pandemic-related measures.
As Manitobans prepare for Thanksgiving weekend, Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin issued a plea for families to limit their gatherings to members of their own households and reduce the number of close contacts outside their home.
Last week, the province released detailed guidelines for fall holidays, including Thanksgiving and Halloween.
WATCH | Dr. Brent Roussin talks about Thanksgiving plans:
On Thanksgiving Monday, these COVID-19 testing sites will be open:
- 1181 Portage Ave. in Winnipeg.
- 1284 Main St. in Winnipeg.
- 2735 Pembina Highway in Winnipeg.
- 604 St. Mary's Rd. in Winnipeg.
- Van Horne location drive-thru site (entrance off of Van Horne Avenue E.) in Brandon.
- 622 Superior Ave. in Selkirk.
- Eriksdale Wellness Centre, 35 Railway Ave. in Eriksdale.
- Pine Falls Health Complex, 37 Maple St. in Pine Falls.
- Southland Mall, R10-777 Norquay Dr. in Winkler.
- 365 Reimer Ave. in Steinbach.
- Portage Avenue and Fifth Street S.E. in Portage la Prairie.
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