COVID-19 hospitalizations drop by 9 in Manitoba but still too early to say if virus has peaked

Manitoba public health officials report three new COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday and a nine-patient decline in hospitalizations.

There are now 720 people in hospital with the illness. That includes49 in intensive care unitsthe same number as Tuesday.

Those patients make up just under half of Manitoba's total 105 ICU patients, a spokesperson for Shared Health, which oversees health-care delivery in the province, said in an email.

Before the pandemic, Manitoba's baseline capacity for its ICUs was 72 patients.

The province's death toll related to COVID-19is now 1,524,elevated in large part by132deaths in January alone.That makes it the fourth-deadliest month of the pandemic, so far.

The three worst months were all during the second wave: December 2020 (355), November 2020 (243) and January 2021 (162).

Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussincould not saywhat proportion of Manitoba's deaths this month were relatedto the Delta coronavirus variant,which drove the second waveof COVID-19 cases, and how many are due to the Omicron variant.

Determining that isdifficult because it would requirethe sequencing of results of the variant in every person who died, he said.

The latest deaths are a man in his 70s and a woman in her 90s, both from the Winnipeg health region, and a woman in her 90s from the Interlake-Eastern health region linked to anoutbreak at the Betel Home personal care home in Selkirk.

More details were also released about seven deathsreported Tuesday onthe province's online dashboard.

They include twomen one in his 50sand one in his 60s from the Winnipeg region.

The remainder areall from theSouthern Healthregion: two men in their 70s, a woman in her 70sand two men in their 80s.

"Hospitalization rates are high, although stable, and the same goes with ICU admissions at this point," Roussinsaid. "We're continuing to see a significant amount of spread of COVID-19 in the community."

There were another 637 cases of COVID-19 reported Wednesday the same number of cases reported Tuesday although Roussin repeated that the numbers are a significant underestimateof the actual number of new caseseach day.

Many people are now using rapid tests, the results of which are not entered into the provincial database, andManitoba hasstrictly restrictedaccess toPCR tests at provincial sitesto protect capacity.

Close to half of the latest reported cases arein the Winnipeg health region, which has 303.

There are another 110in the Prairie Mountain Health region, 106 in theNorthern Health Region, 71 in theSouthern Health region and 47 in the Interlake-Eastern health region.

A breakdown of the latest cases by vaccination statuscan be viewed on a chart on the government website.

Despite the highnumbers of hospitalizations and daily deaths, there is some evidence the pandemic's current wave could be receding in Manitoba.

Wastewater monitoring done by the National Microbiology Laboratory suggests the virus that causesCOVID-19 was found in the largest quantitiesin Winnipeg at the beginning of January.

"However, since then we haven't seen a dramatic decline and have seen quite variable levels, so we do have to keep a close eye on that information," Roussin said.

"It's still early to describe where, definitively, we are in this wave. We do know for sure that the virus is very much present in our communities and circulating."

The province isworking with scientists at the National Microbiology Lab to analyze the data.

As far as public health restrictions, which are set to expire on Feb. 1,Roussin said an announcement will come soon on whether they will again be extended, reduced or changed in any way.

The current ordersfirst went into effect on Dec. 21 and were extendedin early January.

A new subvariantof Omicron, known as BA.2, has been detected in various countries, threatening to prolong the currentwave of infections, but Roussin said it has not yet been found in Manitoba.

BA.2 has drawn the attention of virologists since it started to tick upwardin multiple countries, including early signals of a slight rise in Canada, suggesting it may be even more transmissible than its predecessor.

New outbreaks have been declared at:

• Misericordia Place inWinnipeg.
• Health Sciences Centre, GB3unit, in Winnipeg.
• EriksdalePersonal Care Home in Eriksdale.
• Swan Valley Health Centre, extended treatment unit, in Swan Valley.

Previously announced outbreaks are now over at theChildren's Hospital, CK5 oncology unit, in Winnipeg, the Seven Oaks General Hospital, units 4U4-7 and 4U8-12, in Winnipeg, theBrandon Regional Health Centre, 400 medical unit, and the Thompson General Hospital, obstetrics and neonatal unit.

Vaccine teams visit shelters

Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead of Manitoba's COVID-19 vaccine implementation task force, said at Wednesday's news conference that vaccination teams are visiting Winnipeg shelters to ensure people without reliable housing have access to a vaccine.

"Many people who are living in shelters now are eligible for their third dose," she said.

The approach has variedin other regions. Vaccine clinics have been offered at food banks or near alternative isolation sites, or throughcommunity organizations. Other groupsthat work with vulnerable peoplehave offered transportation to existing clinics.

"It's hard to get an exact tally of how many doses were given because of these outreach efforts, because they vary so much from community to community," Reimer said.

The vaccine program in schools is continuing, with nearly 60 clinics scheduled for this week, plus more than a dozen after-school clinics, she said. More than15,000 doses have been given through the school-based clinics since September.

Nearly 9,700 of those doses have been given to kids agefive to 11. Adults are eligible to visitthe after-school clinics, which has led to nearly 4,300people over 18 getting at least one dose.

5-11 age group lags in uptake

As ofWednesday, 68,993 first doses have been given to children agefive to 11, or 55.2 per cent of that age group.

Reimer urges parents to get their kids vaccinated to bump that number up, saying they are lagging in their uptake and only beginning to get their second doses.

"We need to get the numbers higher in this group. We really want to protect all of the children in Manitoba," she said.

So far, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization has not yet recommended a third dose for those aged 12 to 17. It is possible that won't happen, Reimer said, adding itwould only be recommended if deemed to be a benefit.

Younger people may already get sufficient protection against COVID-19from their first two doses because they have fewer risks for severe outcomes and,generally speaking,because they havea stronger immune response, she said.

"Regardless of what NACI says for a third-dose recommendation for teens, I do want to reinforce the importance of them getting their first and second dose when they're eligible," Reimer said.

Overall, across the province as of Wednesday, 85.5 per cent of eligible Manitobanshave had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 79 per cent have had at least two and 39 per cent have had three, theprovincial vaccine dashboard says.

The total number of doses administered in the province is now at 2,719,447, with 2,110 more scheduled to be given on Wednesday.

Enforcement

The province also provided an update Wednesday on enforcement of public health orders, saying1,800 inspections occurred during the week ofJan. 17-23,resulting in 34 warnings and 37 tickets issued.

The total amount of fines handed out was $11,726.

There were 35 tickets for $298 eachhanded out forfailure to wear a mask in an indoor public place, while one $1,296 ticket was given to an individual.

Of those 37 tickets, 36 wereissued in the Southern Health region and one in the Winnipeg area.

AWinnipeg burger restaurantthat is accused of repeatedly breaking public health orderswill have its fine foroffences under the Public Health Act determined by the courts.

It's the second time an information has been laidagainstMonstrosity Burger on Corydon Avenue.

Fines for each offence could go as high as $1 million.

WATCH | Full news conference on COVID-19 | January 26, 2022:

Manitoba government daily briefing on coronavirus: Jan. 26

3 years ago

Duration 58:11

Provincial officials give update on COVID-19 outbreak: Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022.