Manitoba has only six confirmed cases of the Omicron variant. Yet, our Chief Provincial Public Health Officer says if our province follows the pattern of other jurisdictions, we could soon start to see case counts skyrocket.
According to the Ontario Science Table Dashboard, as of December 14th, 30.8 per cent of cases in that province are Omicron. The doubling time for Omicron is three days, compared to the Delta variant which was 34 days.
Dr. Brent Roussin says if Manitoba follows the same pattern as other jurisdictions, we will have 223 news cases per day by December 25th and more than 1,000 new daily cases by early 2022.
"Definitely it is much more transmissible than the Delta variant," says Dr. Roussin. "We are still learning about the severity, still learning about the impacts of vaccine and prior infection."
And, though Dr. Roussin is cautioning against holding large family gatherings this Christmas, he made no mention of any new restrictions being introduced.
Meanwhile, public health officials advise four new deaths in people with COVID-19 are being reported today:
a male in his 50s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Tuesday);
a male in his 60s from the Interlake-Eastern health region (reported Tuesday);
a male in his 60s from the Prairie Mountain Health region (reported Wednesday); and
a male in his 70s from the Interlake-Eastern health region (reported Wednesday).
Today's five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 6.2 per cent provincially and 4.4 per cent in Winnipeg. As of 9:30 a.m. today, 370 new cases of the virus have been identified since Monday: 164 cases on Tuesday, Dec. 14; and 206 cases today. This includes:
Interlake Eastern health region - 27
Northern health region - 41
Prairie Mountain health region - 42
Southern Health-Sante Sud health region - 109
Winnipeg health region - 151
Nine cases have been removed due to data correction. The total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba is 70,340.
There were 206 new cases identified in Manitoba today. Of these, 110 are in individuals who were not fully vaccinated. This includes:
Interlake Eastern health region - 17 cases, 9 not fully vaccinated
Northern health region - 13 cases, 4 not fully vaccinated
Prairie Mountain health region - 23 cases, 13 not fully vaccinated
Southern Health-Sante Sud health region - 73 cases, 46 not fully vaccinated
Winnipeg health region - 78 cases, 38 not fully vaccinated
Today’s data also shows:
1,779 active cases and 67,204 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19;
139 Manitobans hospitalized with COVID-19 including 88 people with active COVID-19 as well as 51 people who are no longer infectious;
a total of 34 Manitoba patients receiving intensive care for COVID-19 including 26 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as eight people who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care;
one new case of B.1.1.529 (omicron) variant has been confirmed in Manitoba for a total of six;
3,171 laboratory tests were completed yesterday bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 1,217,584; and
the total number of deaths in people with COVID-19 is 1,357.
Outbreaks have been declared over at:
Country Meadow personal care home;
Ecole Assiniboine, Grade 5 class; and
Portage District General Hospital Dialysis Unit.
Vaccine
To have the fullest protection possible against COVID-19 going into the holiday season, Manitobans are encouraged to get their second and third dose as quickly as possible. While COVID-19 vaccine appointments continue to be available at regional or provincial vaccine clinics, for many people the fastest way to be immunized is at a nearby medical clinic, pharmacy or urban Indigenous clinic. Please check the online vaccine finder or with a medical clinic or pharmacy near you that provides the COVID-19 vaccine to find the next available opportunity to be immunized.
The timeline between second and third dose is being shortened for some individuals. Anyone aged 60 or older or those aged 18 or older who live in a First Nations community who received their second dose on or before July 10 are now strongly encouraged to receive their third dose. A six month timeframe between second and third doses continues to be recommended for most other eligible Manitobans. More information is available at https://manitoba.ca/covid19/vaccine/eligibility-criteria.html#third.
Eligibility for first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine continues to include anyone aged five or older. Second dose appointments can be made for children ages five to 11. The interval between first and second doses must be a minimum of eight weeks, or a minimum of 21 days for children living in First Nations communities.
A total of 2,283,775 doses of vaccine have been administered in Manitoba, including 47,952 first doses given to children aged five to 11. This represents 38 per cent of children in that age group. As of today, 83.9 per cent of all eligible Manitobans aged five and up have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 78.1 per cent have received two doses.
Many Manitoba vaccine sites, as well as pharmacies and clinics, are offering walk-in and appointment-based vaccination for COVID and seasonal flu. Eligible individuals can book their appointments online, by calling (toll-free) 1-844-626-8222 (1-844-MAN-VACC), or by contacting their local pharmacy or medical clinic directly. Visit https://www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/vaccine/finder/html for some of the available options.
Enforcement
The Manitoba government is also providing an update on ongoing enforcement efforts to protect Manitobans from the spread of COVID-19. A total of 27 warnings and 18 tickets were issued for the week of Dec. 6 to12, including:
four $1,296 tickets to individuals; and
14 $298 tickets to individuals for failure to wear a mask in an indoor public place.
Manitobans are urged to continue reporting compliance and enforcement issues by visiting www.manitoba.ca/COVID19 and completing the reporting form, or by calling 204-945-3744 or (toll-free) 1-866-626-4862 and pressing option three on the call menu. Updated enforcement statistics are posted online weekly at: https://manitoba.ca/openmb/infomb/departments/index.html#cdr.
More resources about
Vaccine campaign in Manitoba: www.manitoba.ca/vaccine and https://protectmb.ca.
Possible exposure locations by region: www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/updates/flights.html#event
Data related to COVID-19, variants of concern, outbreaks and some downloadable and historic data: https://geoportal.gov.mb.ca/.
Up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Manitoba: www.manitoba.ca/COVID19.
Tue, Apr 23, 4:00 PM
Skilled Trades, Full-time
Featured
