Public health officials advise the 28th, 29th and 30th deaths due to COVID-19 have been reported, a female in her 80s and a female in her 70s, both from Winnipeg and linked to the outbreak at Parkview Place, and a female in her 80s from Winnipeg linked to Heritage Lodge. These cases were previously announced.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 3.1 per cent and 84 new cases of the virus have been identified as of 9:30 a.m. bringing the total number of cases in Manitoba to 2,428.

Today’s data shows:

- one case in the Prairie Mountain Health region

- seven cases in the Southern Health - Santé Sud health region

- 12 cases in the Interlake-Eastern health region

- 64 cases in the Winnipeg health region.

The data also shows there are 933 active cases with1,465 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19. There are 25 people in hospital and six people in intensive care, and the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 30.

Testing for COVID-19 is available on Thanksgiving Monday at the community testing sites at:

- Southland Mall at R10-777 Norquay Drive in Winkler

- 1181 Portage Ave. in Winnipeg

- 1284 Main St. in Winnipeg

- 2735 Pembina Hwy. in Winnipeg;604 St. Mary's Rd. in Winnipeg

- the Van Horne Location Entrance off of Van Horne Ave. E. in Brandon

- 622 Superior Ave. in Selkirk

- Eriksdale Wellness Centre, 35 Railway Ave. in Eriksdale

- Pine Falls Health Complex at 37 Maple St. in Pine-Falls

- 365 Reimer Ave. in Steinbach

- Portage Ave. and 5th St. SE in Portage la Prairie

Visit http://www.manitoba.ca/covid19/updates/testing.html for more information.

Additional testing capacity will be available in the coming days, including:

- capacity to expand COVID-19 testing at 2735 Pembina Hwy on Saturday, Oct. 10, to perform at least 240 additional tests a day

- the opening of a new, drive-thru testing site at 1066 Nairn Ave. on Oct. 13. The site will add immediate additional capacity in Winnipeg, performing up to 200 tests a day starting Oct. 13 and increasing capacity to 400 tests a day starting Oct. 15.

Public health officials are advised about additional possible exposures at schools, including:

- University of Winnipeg Collegiate, 515 Portage Ave., in Winnipeg on Sept. 28 and 30, and Oct. 5 and 7. Based on the public health investigation, there is no evidence of in-school transmission, or that the infection was acquired in school. Public health is reaching out to close contacts to advise to self-monitor for symptoms and seek testing if they develop.

- Kleefeld School, 101 Friesen Ave., Kleefeld on Oct. 1 and 2. Based on the public health investigation, there is no evidence of in-school transmission, or that the infection was acquired in school. Public health is reaching out to close contacts to advise cohort to self-isolate and move to remote learning.

With Thanksgiving this weekend, public health is providing guidelines for how to enjoy fall holidays and celebrations while reducing the potential spread of COVID-19. For more information, visit  https://www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/updates/prepareandprevent.html#holidays 

The chief provincial public health officer strongly encourages Manitobans to reduce the number of close contacts outside their household, and avoid closed-in or crowded spaces. In addition, they should focus on these fundamentals to help stop the spread of COVID-19:

Stay home if you are sick.Wash/sanitize your hands and cover your cough.Physically distance when you are with people outside your household.If you cannot physically distance, wear a mask to help reduce the risk to others or as required by public health orders.