The Wednesday, May 19th daily update from the province was delayed in its release due to technical issues. Public health officials advise four new deaths in a person with COVID-19 has been reported today.

a male in his 40s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the B.1.1.7 variant of concern.
a male in his 60s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to an unspecified variant of concern.
a female in her 80s from Southern Health-Sante Sud, linked to the B.1.1.7 variant of concern.
a female in her 90s from Winnipeg health region, linked to the B.1.1.7 variant of concern.


The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 13.5 per cent provincially and 15.1 per cent in Winnipeg. As of 9:30 a.m. today, 402 new cases of the virus have been identified. However, one case has been removed due to data correction. This brings the net-new number of cases today to 401 and the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba to 46,314.

Today’s COVID-19 data shows:

40 cases in the Interlake-Eastern health region;
18 cases in the Northern health region;
42 cases in the Prairie Mountain health region;
50 cases in the Southern Health-Santé Sud health region; and
252 cases in the Winnipeg health region.

The data also shows:

4,550 active cases and 40,748 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19;
231 people in hospital with active COVID-19 as well as 62 people in hospital with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 293 hospitalizations;
61 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as 19 people with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care, for a total of 80 ICU patients;
3,166 laboratory tests were completed yesterday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 731,413 and
the total number of deaths in people with COVID-19 is 1,016.


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, walk-in, or by booking an appointment by calling 1-855-268-4318 or online at select sites at https://www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/testing/locations.html#appointment.

Meanwhile, Manitobans can begin to book second-dose COVID-19 vaccine appointments starting 11:45 a.m., Friday, May 21st. At this time, only people who have the following priority conditions will be able to book a second dose appointment by phone or online on Friday including:
- those receiving hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis;
- those with liver cirrhosis due to any cause or portal hypertension;
- those with severe heart failure;
- those with cancers including solid tumor and blood (leukemia/lymphoma) who will or are receiving chemotherapy, immunosuppressive therapy or immune checkpoint inhibitors (e.g., nivolumab, pembrolizumab);
- those receiving one or more of the following medications:
- B cell therapies (e.g., rituximab, ocrelizumab);
- Cyclophosphamide;
- Alemtuzumab;
- calcineurin inhibitors (cyclosporine, tacrolimus);
- chronic dose prednisone (more than 20 mg/day);
- mycophenolate; and
- JAK inhibitors (e.g., tofacitinib);
- those who have received or are on the list to receive a solid organ transplant;
- those who have received a stem cell transplant or CAR-T therapy at least three months ago;
- those with Down syndrome;
- those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); or
- individuals receiving home care more than four times per week or receiving 24/7 Community Living Disability Services supports (or as per family physician determination of equivalent levels of family support).

People should only book a second-dose appointment when they are eligible. When booking the second dose, it is important to know the date of the person’s first dose and the type of vaccine received. This information can be found at https://sharedhealthmb.ca/covid19/test-results/ or by calling the local public health office. Contact information for public health offices is available at www.manitoba.ca/health/publichealth/offices.html.