Public health officials advise two new deaths in people with COVID-19 have been reported today:
- a male in his 30s from the Winnipeg health region; and
- a female in her 80s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region, linked to the B.1.1.7 variant of concern.

Four deaths in people with COVID-19 were reported Monday:
- a male in his 40s from the Prairie Mountain Health region, linked to B.1.1.7 variant of concern;
- a male in his 50 from the Prairie Mountain Health region, linked to B.1.1.7 variant of concern;
- a male his 70s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region; and
- a male his 70s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 13.8 per cent provincially and 15.9 per cent in Winnipeg. As of 9:30 a.m. today, 259 new cases of the virus have been identified. The total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba to 49,046.

Today’s COVID-19 data shows:
- 15 cases in the Interlake–Eastern health region;
- 14 cases in the Northern health region.
- 15 cases in the Prairie Mountain health region;
- 28 cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region; and
- 187 cases in the Winnipeg health region.

The data also shows:
- 4,945 active cases and 43,066 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19;
- 253 people in hospital with active COVID-19 as well as 61 people in hospital with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 314 hospitalizations;
- 59 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as 20 people with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care, for a total of 79 ICU patients;
- 2,398 laboratory tests were completed yesterday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 751,948; and
- the total number of deaths in people with COVID-19 is 1,035.

Public health officials are reminding Manitobans that in most cases, they should only seek testing at a provincial test site if they are symptomatic or have been advised by public health that they are a close contact. This will help ensure that those who need to be tested can continue to access testing as easily as possible. Manitobans have several options available to access testing including drive-thru and walk-in sites, or by booking an appointment by calling (toll-free) 1-855-268-4318 or online at select sites at www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/testing/locations.html#appointment.

Additional data on variants of concern is updated from Tuesday to Saturday at https://geoportal.gov.mb.ca/. Data related to COVID-19, outbreaks and some downloadable and historic data can also be found at this site.

An outbreak has been declared at Boundary Trails Health Centre, Surgical/Rehab unit in Winkler. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the province describes an outbreak to include a single laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19 in a staff member, volunteer, or resident in a highly vulnerable setting defines an outbreak. Highly vulnerable settings include: personal care homes, healthcare facilities, correctional centres, and shelters. The case must have worked or resided at the facility during the period of communicability.

Possible exposure locations are listed online by region at the province’s #RestartMB Pandemic Response System webpage. For up-to-date information on possible public exposures to COVID-19 in regions, visit www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/updates/flights.html#event and click on your region.

For up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Manitoba, including the online screening tool, testing criteria and locations, self-isolation requirements, public health fundamentals and the provincial response level on the #RestartMB Pandemic Response System, visit www.manitoba.ca/COVID19.

VACCINES

Second-Dose Eligibility

All Indigenous people in Manitoba and individuals with specific health conditions are eligible to book their second dose of vaccine, as long as they meet the minimum time interval between doses. People with specific health conditions are also eligible to book their second-dose appointment. For more information, visit https://manitoba.ca/covid19/vaccine/eligibility-criteria.html#second-dose.

Individuals who need to confirm the date of their first immunization can check their online immunization record at https://sharedhealthmb.ca/covid19/test-results/ or by calling their local public health office.

First-Dose Eligibility

All people aged 12 and up are eligible to book their first-dose appointments.

Young people aged 12 to 15 can either attend the appointment with a parent, guardian or caregiver, or bring a signed consent form at the time of their appointment. If the youth attends without a guardian and without a signed consent form, they will go through an informed consent process with a clinical lead to assess their ability to consent on their own and proceed with the vaccine. Young people aged 16 and 17 can sign their own consent form.

Appointments

There are currently thousands of appointments available at the Leila super site from May 26 to 28. Eligible people can also book appointments at super sites in Gimli, Dauphin, Steinbach, Winnipeg (RBC Convention Centre), Brandon, Thompson, Selkirk and Morden.

Pop-up clinics are taking place in communities throughout the province this week.

Indigenous people can also attend an urban Indigenous clinic led by community organizations in Winnipeg, Brandon, Thompson and Portage la Prairie.

Eligible individuals can book their appointments at these sites online at https://protectmb.ca or by calling (toll-free) 1-844-626-8222 (1-844-MAN-VACC).

Additional Information

When attending a vaccine appointment, people are reminded to bring their completed consent form (available online at https://protectmb.ca), wear a short-sleeved shirt, wear a mask, and bring their health card or other form of identification. To help support good physical distancing on site, people should arrive no more than 15 minutes before their scheduled appointment time.

More information about the vaccine campaign in Manitoba is available at www.manitoba.ca/vaccine and https://protectmb.ca. For regular updates, visit https://protectmb.ca and sign up for the weekly e-newsletter.

All data in this bulletin is current as of May 24 unless noted otherwise.