New COVID-19 subvariant EG.5 confirmed in Manitoba

The latest Omicron subvariant, called EG.5,has made its way into Manitoba, according to the province.

"The province conducts routine variant surveillance, and EG.5 has been detected in a portion of the samples investigated last week (which were collected mid-July)," a provincial spokesperson said in an emailWednesday afternoon.

It's unclear if the new subvariant causes any unfamiliar symptoms that haven't already been documented by other Omicron subvariants.

As part of a new risk evaluation released Wednesday, the World Health Organization bumped EG.5 to the same standing as XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.6, which are also members of the Omicron family tree.

The Public Health Agency of Canada previously stated that EG.5 has been circulating in Canada since at least May. The subvariant and its offshootsareestimated to have made up more than one-third of cases in Canada between July 30 and Aug. 5,according to an emailshared withCBC News.

As of Monday, more than 7,300 sequences of EG.5 have been reportedfrom 51 countries, the WHO said in its risk evaluation, with the most sequences found in China, the U.S., South Korea, JapanandCanada.

Hospital admissions remain low

Manitoba's latest respiratory surveillance report shows a COVID-19 positivity rate of five per cent, from July 16 to 22, with 16 total cases reported.Thepositivity report from July 1 to 22 is slightly lower at four per cent, and a total of 54 cases over that same period.

This is considered an undercount because the province no longer does broad testing nor does it include home-based test results in its tallies.

There were six hospital admissions, including one to intensive care during the latest reporting period. One person died, according to the province.There have been 19 additional hospital admissions, including three more to intensive care, for the two previous weeks in July.

There were five COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities from July 1 to 22, including two during the last reporting period.

Wastewater surveillance data up to July 18 indicates decreased COVID-19 activity in Winnipeg and Brandoncompared to last fall. However, parts of north, west and south Winnipeg have seen a slight rise in those levels.

As of July 22, 77.4 per centof all Manitoba residents have received at least two doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Another21.7 per cent of Manitobanshave received at least one dose of bivalent vaccine.