166 new COVID-19 cases, 2 deaths in Manitoba on Saturday

There are 166 new COVID-19 cases in Manitoba on Saturday and twomore people have died from the illness, the province says in a news release.

The biggest chunk of new cases on Saturday is in the province's Northern Health Region, which reported 69 infections, or more than 40 per cent of the new cases. There are also 47 new cases in the Winnipeg health region, the release says.

Manitoba's five-day test positivity rate is down slightly to 7.3 per cent, from 7.5 per cent on Friday.In Winnipeg, that rate droppedto 4.4 per cent, down from 4.9 on Friday.

There are now 275 COVID-19 patients in hospital, up three from Friday. Of those, 39 are in intensive care, which is unchanged.

The deaths announced Saturday are two men: one in his 80s linked to an outbreak atWinnipeg's Holy Family Home and one in his 90s linked to an outbreak atNiverville's Heritage Life Personal Care Home, the release says.

They bring Manitoba's total to 825 coronavirus-linked deaths.

The remaining new cases announced Saturday are spread out between the Interlake-Eastern health region (26), the Prairie Mountain Health region (14) and the Southern Health region (10). They bring Manitoba's total number of cases identified to 29,446.

Of those, 25,095 people are considered to have recovered from COVID-19, while another 3,526 cases are still considered active though health officials have said that number is inflated by a data entry backlog.

An outbreak previously declared at the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre in Winnipeg has been cancelled following additional information from public health officials, the release says. Other outbreaks declared at Grunthal's Menno Home for the Aged, Oakbank's Kin Place Personal Care Home and Winnipeg's Golden Links Lodge are now over.

Meanwhile, people working in licensed child-care centres, nursery schools, and family or group child-care homes in Winnipeg, or in the Hanover and Seine River school division boundaries, will soon be allowed to make rapid COVID-19 testing appointments at Winnipeg's Fast Pass site on Nairn Avenue.

Appointments will be open to those groups starting Monday, the release says.Information about how to book an appointment to be tested there is available on the province's website.

There were 1,946 COVID-19 tests done in Manitoba on Friday, which brings the total number of swabs completed in the province to 475,748 since last February.