6 deaths, 312 new cases of COVID-19 cases in Manitoba on Sunday

Of the six deaths reported Sunday and the two additional ones announced late Saturday, four are connected to an outbreak at Maples Long Term Care home, including two women in their 80s, a man in his 80s and a woman in her 90s, according to a provincial news release.

There are two deaths — a man in his 70s and another in his 80s — linked to an outbreak at St. Boniface Hospital.

A man in his 50s from the Steinbach district in the Southern Health region also died. 

There is no information about the man in his 60s from Winnipeg whose death was reported Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre, a Jewish care home, announced another death in a statement posted on its website Saturday.

“Our hearts are heavy and our sincere condolences go out to the family and friends of our resident,” the statement reads in part.

It’s the second recorded death of a resident at Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre. The first was announced on Oct. 24, after an outbreak had been declared there on Oct. 23.

No details were released about the latest death at the home.

It’s currently not known if the death is one of four announced by the Manitoba government on Saturday.

238 cases in Winnipeg

Of the new cases, 238 are in the Winnipeg health region, 26 are in the Southern Health Region, 25 are in the Interlake-Eastern health region, 16 are in the Northern health region and seven are in the Prairie Mountain Health region.

There are 3,255 active cases, and 2,704 people have recovered.

On Saturday, 3,6897 tests were completed and the current five-day test positivity rate — a rolling average of the number of COVID-19 tests that come back positive — is 8.9 per cent. That’s a new high for the province, and the fourth consecutive day that Manitoba has set a record for test positivity.

The rate for Winnipeg is a record 9.9 per cent, however, the province cautioned that number may be less reliable due to the smaller sample size. 

The province says there is still capacity in Manitoba’s intensive care units, as it reported 120 people in hospital, including 18 in intensive care on Sunday. 

Officials are working to introduce more ICU and surgical capacity if needed, according to the release.

The province reported a new outbreak on Sunday at the Women’s Correctional Centre in Headingley.

The facility was moved to red, or critical, on the province’s colour-coded pandemic response system.

Starting on Monday, new restrictions are coming into effect across the province, including moving the Winnipeg metropolitan region to the highest level — red, or critical — on the province’s pandemic response system.

Many businesses and facilities will close, including bars and restaurant dining rooms, movie theatres and concert halls. Most retail outlets will be reduced to 25 per cent capacity.

The rest of the province will be at the orange, or restricted, level as of Monday.