Manitoba warns of possible B117 exposure at Winnipeg store, 3 care homes announce COVID-19 outbreaks

Manitoba public health officials announced three new outbreaks at Winnipeg personal care homes Wednesday as evidence emerged of several more cases of highly contagious coronavirus variants in the province.

They also announced 96 new COVID-19 cases, plusanother nine cases involving variants of concerndetected in Winnipeg.That brings Manitoba's total variant caseload to date to 64.

Officials warned of a possible exposureto B117 the more transmissible coronavirusvariant first identified in the U.K. at a Winnipeg Costco in St. James on March 7, from 10 a.m. tonoon.

They also saidoutbreaks have been declared at theRiver East Personal Care Home,Extendicare Oakview Place long-term care home and Heritage Lodge Long Term Care Home, all in Winnipeg.

There are two active cases at River East and one at Oakview, none of which appear to be variants, according to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. A spokesperson also confirmed a Heritage Lodge staff member, and later a resident, tested positive for theB117 variant in recent days. Both are isolating.

Twenty-four residents at Heritage Lodge, all of whom previously tested negative after the staff member tested positive,were retested on Tuesday, according to a WRHA spokesperson. Results are pending.

The company that runs the care home, Revera, said Wednesday most residents who were eligible have already received both vaccine doses, and staff vaccinations are ongoing. Staff are screened at the start and end of their shifts, and must take an antigen test weekly, Revera said in a statement.

No new deaths

No new deaths from COVID-19 were announced in ManitobaWednesday. So far, 917 people have died due to the illness, most of them in the fall and this winter.

Another2,007 COVID-19 tests were done Tuesday, bringing the totalto over550,000 sinceManitoba's first cases were discovered just over a year ago.

Ofthe 96 new cases, more than half (51) were from the Northern Health region. Another 40 cases were from the Winnipeg area, while two cases each came from Southern Health and Interlake-Eastern health regions. One case was found in the Prairie Mountain Health region.

WATCH |Reimer says COVID-19 variants of concern won't change vaccine rollout plan:

Dr. Joss Reimer says COVID-19 variants of concern won't change Manitoba's vaccine rollout plan

4 years ago

Duration 1:25

Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead for Manitoba's vaccine task force, said Wednesday the goal of the vaccine rollout plan is to get as many doses as possible to Manitobans, and more transmissible variants don't change that.

The provincial test positivity rate declined slightly to 4.4 per cent, from 5.2 per cent Tuesday.

The number of people in hospital due to COVID-19 dipped to 149 from 151 on Tuesday. There are 21peoplein intensive care with the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

Variants and vaccine rollout

The vaccination timeline has shortened considerably several times in recent weeks as the federal government continues to up the number of doses shipped to Manitoba.

Eligibility requirements dropped again Wednesday, to 73 and older for the general population or53 and older for First Nations people. An online booking system launched Wednesday.

"Vaccines are by far the safest and most studied medical intervention in our health system," said Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead of Manitoba's vaccine task force, urgingthose eligible to book appointments.

WATCH | Dr. Joss Reimer urges all eligible Manitobans to get immunized for COVID-19:

Dr. Joss Reimer urges all eligible Manitobans to get immunized for COVID-19

4 years ago

Duration 1:39

Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead for Manitoba's vaccine task force, said Wednesday there have been reports of some Manitobans opting not to get immunized because they feel others are more deserving. But she said all eligible people should get immunized, and doing so helps protect others in the community.

More than seven per cent ofeligible Manitobans over 18 havereceived at least one shot of thevaccine.

Reimer said the three vaccines currentlyin Manitoba's arsenal are equally protective against the B117 variant, whichmakes up the majority of variant cases so far in the province.

She noted some evidence suggests vaccines might be less effective against the B1351 variant, which was first identified in South Africa, though they still offer some protection.

On Tuesday, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin confirmed theB1351 variantwas in Manitoba as early as Feb. 12. Officials recently startedretroactively screening all test samples for variants as far back as the beginning of February.

Government surveys suggest at least 80 per cent of Manitobansplan to get vaccinatedor already have, with nine per cent expressing skepticism, said Reimer.

That ratio is encouraging, she said,and the increase in variants hasn't changed vaccine rollout plans.

"This virus could surprise. It's always changing," she said. "But that's an awfully great starting point if we can get 80 per cent of Manitobans immunized."

WATCH | Full news conference on COVID-19 | March 17, 2021:

Manitoba government daily briefing on coronavirus: March 17

4 years ago

Duration 42:38

Provincial officials give update on COVID-19 outbreak: Wednesday, March 17, 2021.