56 new cases of COVID-19, 2 more deaths in Manitoba Sunday

Manitoba has 56 new cases of COVID-19 and twomore deaths, the province announced on Sunday.

Both of the deaths are linked to outbreaks at Winnipeg personal care homes, including a woman in her 90s from River East Personal Care Home and a woman in her 80s from Actionmarguerite St. Boniface.

The province's total number of deaths related to the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is now 907.

Of the new cases, 27 are in the Northern health region, 24 are in the Winnipeg health region,three are in the Southern Health region and one case each in the Interlake-Eastern and Prairie Mountain health regions.

The five-day test positivity rate a rolling average of the number of tests that come back positiveis 3.3 per cent in Manitoba, up marginally from 3.1 per cent on Saturday. The rate is2.3 per cent in Winnipeg, up from 2.2 per cent.

There are 159 people in the hospital with COVID-19, upfrom 158the day before, with 22in intensive care units.

The number of cases involving coronavirus variants of concernin the province remains at nine. That includes one case ofB1351 the coronavirus variantfirst identified in South Africaannounced Friday.The case was found in the Winnipeg region.

There are 1,130 active cases and 30,188 people have recovered from COVID-19, according to the province.

Its release says 1,677 tests were completed on Saturday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 537,369.

Sunday's update comes after the province announced71more cases of COVID-19 and one more death a woman in her 20s from the Winnipeg health region from the illness on Saturday.

As of Saturday,all Manitobans85 and olderand First Nations people 65and oldercan book appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

The province said the day before that every eligible Manitoban could get a first doseof a coronavirus vaccine by May 18, after the province decided to delay second doses, assuming vaccine shipments arrive on time.