For the first time in two weeks, Manitoba health officials have reported a death due to COVID-19. The seventh person to die from the effects of the virus in the province was a man in his 70s in the Southern Health/Sante Sud region.
Manitoba chief provincial health officer Dr. Brent Roussi also announced one new case of COVID-19 in Manitoba during a briefing May 5. Four people are in hospital with COVID-19.
“This person was in hospital, they were previously in intensive care and unfortunately passed yesterday. Our thoughts go out to their friends and family,” Roussin said.
No new cases have been announced in the Northern Health Region for nearly a month.
Any symptomatic Manitoban is eligible to be tested for COVID-19. Only 339 tests were processed in Manitoba in the past 24 hours before the 1 p.m. briefing. Roussin said he thinks the lower numbers are due to a low demand for tests. Any Manitoban with COVID-19 symptoms is encouraged to call Health Links - Info Santé (204-788-8200 or toll-free at 1-888-315-9257) to schedule a test.
“The much better indicator of where the virus is in Manitoba is the positive test rate, which is about 0.3 per cent over the past seven days,” he said.
“We have a very broad testing criteria. Any symptomatic Manitoban can present, we have a number of test sites, so for the most part, it’s demand right now.”
Officials are also tracking what they called a "cluster of cases" at a workplace in the Prairie Mountain Health Region. Roussin didn’t say where the outbreak was, but confirmed it was not at a health care facility. The cases were not reported as part of the province's daily case numbers.
“At this point there’s no concern from public health that [the cluster] poses a risk to the public,” Roussin said.
“The investigation has been dealt with at the site itself.”
Workplaces have been some of the biggest infection spreaders in Canada. A slaughterhouse in Alberta has had over 900 confirmed COVID-19 cases.
“Depending on the situation, [an outbreak at a food processing plant] would probably would be something we would disclose given the issues in other places,” Roussin said.
“At this point, we’re not disclosing what it is.”
Roussin was asked about why Manitoba is barring drive-in movie theatres from operating. The Big Island Drive-In, located southeast of Flin Flon, is one of a small number of drive-in theatres operating in Manitoba.
Roussin said there was a balance in determining what businesses the province loosened first, but said additional loosening for drive-ins could be on the horizon.
“I can say with drive-in movie theatres, this is something we are looking at right now, but we'll have information on that in the near future,” he said.
“As more information comes in and more details come, then we’re able to change our orders over time to suit what we think is best for Manitobans.”
Earlier in the day, Premier Brian Pallister announced the province would be sending $200 to seniors to help support them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
