Manitoba reports lowest daily COVID-19 case increase in months, with 45 new infections

Manitoba's five-day test positivity rate dropped to 4.6 per cent from five per cent on Tuesday, while Winnipeg's dipped to four per cent from 4.3 on Tuesday, the province says.

More than half Wednesday's new cases are in Winnipeg health region

CBC News Posted: Feb 24, 2021 1:31 PM EST | Last Updated: February 24, 2021

A paramedic does a nasal swab at a drive-thru COVID-19 test site. Since early last February, Manitoba has done more than half a million tests for the illness. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

Manitoba reported its lowest daily jump in new COVID-19 cases since mid-October on Wednesday, with 45 new infections.

The last time the province announced a one-day jump that low was on Oct. 18, when it reported 44.

More than half the new cases 23 are in the Winnipeg health region, the province said in a news release.There are also 10 new cases in the Northern Health region, eight in the Southern Health region, three in the Interlake-Eastern Health region and one in the Prairie Mountain health region.

Manitoba's five-day test positivity rate dropped to 4.6 per cent from five per cent on Tuesday, while Winnipeg's dipped to four per cent from 4.3 on Tuesday, the release said.

One more death was alsoannounced on Wednesday: a woman in her 90s linked to the outbreak at the Oakview Place Personal Care Home, the release says. There have now been 887 coronavirus-linked deaths in Manitoba.

Manitoba announced no new cases of the B117 coronavirus variant first identified in the U.K. on Wednesday. There have been five cases of that more contagious variant detected in the province, after one more was reported on Tuesday.

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There are now 207 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Manitoba, down by nine from Tuesday. Twenty-nine people are now in intensive care, down by four.

Six previously announced COVID-19 cases were removed from Manitoba's total on Wednesday because of a data correction, the release says, which brings the total number identified in the province to 31,590.

To date, 29,507 people who contracted COVID-19 in Manitoba have recovered, the release says, while another 1,196 cases are still considered active. Health officials have said that number is inflated by a data entry backlog.

There were 1,805 COVID-19 tests done on Tuesday, the release says, which brings the total number of swabs completed in the province since early last February to 517,602.

WATCH | Full news conference on COVID-19 | Feb. 24, 2021:

Manitoba government daily briefing on coronavirus: Feb. 24

4 years ago

44:51

Provincial officials give update on COVID-19 outbreak: Wednesday, February 24, 2021.

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