Public health officials advise three new deaths in people with COVID-19 are being reported today:
• a male in his 30s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the B.1.1.7 (alpha) variant of concern;
• a male in his 70s from the Prairie Mountain Health region, linked to the alpha variant of concern; and
• a male in his 80s from the Prairie Mountain Health region.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 5.1 per cent provincially and 4.6 per cent in Winnipeg. As of 9:30 a.m. today, 74 new cases of the virus have been identified. However, two cases were removed due to data corrections. This brings the net-new number of cases today to 72 and the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba to 56,739.

Of the 74 cases reported today, the COVID-19 data shows:
• 22 new cases in the Interlake–Eastern health region;
• five new cases in the Northern health region;
• one new case in the Prairie Mountain Health region;   
• 13 new cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region; and   
• 33 new cases in the Winnipeg health region.
 
The data also shows:  
• 1,030 active cases and 54,549 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19;
• 141 Manitobans hospitalized with COVID-19 in Manitoba and neighbouring provinces including: 
   - 52 people in hospital in Manitoba with active COVID-19 as well as 85 people in hospital with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious, amounting to a total of 137 hospitalizations;  
• a total of 37 Manitoba patients receiving intensive care for COVID-19 including:
   - 14 people in intensive care units in Manitoba with active COVID-19 as well as 19 people with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care, amounting to a total of 33 ICU patients in Manitoba; and
   - four Manitoba patients in intensive care units outside the province, all of whom are in Ontario;
• 41 patients previously receiving care in an out-of-province ICU have now been returned to Manitoba hospitals for further care; and
   - no COVID-19 patients were transported out of province for care yesterday;
• 1,465 laboratory tests were completed yesterday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 842,723; and
• the total number of deaths in people with COVID-19 is 1,160.

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.

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. 

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.