Health officials in Manitoba say another person with COVID-19 has died and 132 new infections have been confirmed across the province.
There are now 868 active cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba and the provincial five-day test positivity rate is 3.4 per cent.
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The latest death is a man in his 60s from the Winnipeg Health region. His death is linked to an unspecified variant of concern.
Health officials also released details of a death reported Wednesday through the province’s online COVID-19 dashboard. They say that victim was a man over the age of 100 from the Winnipeg district, and his death is also linked to an unspecified variant of concern.
A provincial site tracking variants of concern shows 416 of Manitoba’s active cases involve the more contagious variants, and 410 remain categorized as unspecified.
According to provincial health data, 95 of Manitoba’s latest infections are among people who had yet to be fully vaccinated.
The Southern Health region saw the largest one-day jump in cases, with 33 infections reported Thursday.
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Another 28 cases come from the Winnipeg Health region, 24 were found in the Prairie Mountain Health region, 37 were reported in the Northern Health region and 10 were found in the Interlake-Eastern Health region.
Meanwhile, the number of Manitobans hospitalized due to COVID-19 fell seven to 85 Wednesday, with 15 reported to be in intensive care units, down two from Wednesday’s numbers.
Since March 2020 Manitoba has reported 61,257 COVID-19 cases and 1,215 deaths linked to the virus.
Outbreaks, school moves to remote learning
Health officials reported outbreaks at two Manitoba schools Thursday, leading one to temporarily move to remote learning.
They say Miniota School in Miniota has been moved to red — or critical — on the province’s pandemic response system due to an outbreak. That means the school will be moved to remote learning until Oct. 16, officials said.
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Another outbreak at Alonsa School in Alonsa has put the school into orange — or restricted — under the response system.
A provincial site tracking COVID-19 cases among school-aged children and school staff shows 174 student cases and 28 staff cases were reported in the two weeks leading up to Oct. 5.
There are 84 schools across the province reporting one case or more, according to data on the site.
Meanwhile, the province says concerning case numbers in Mathias Colomb Cree Nation have led that community to be moved to red on the pandemic response system.
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The move means community members are required to stay at home and public gatherings are not permitted.
People should only leave their residence to seek testing or medical care, or to send one person from a household for essential supplies, the province said, adding that exemptions will be made for hunting and fishing season, and people who work in essential services.
Businesses fined for non-compliance
Provincial officials say 35 warnings and 19 tickets were doled out last week for various COVID-19 public health order violations.
The majority of tickets handed out between Sept. 27 and Oct. 3 — 12 — went to businesses. The tickets to businesses come with a $5,000 fine.
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Another five $1,296 tickets went to individuals for various offences and two $298 tickets were handed out for failing to wear a mask in an indoor public place.
The province says nearly 3,300 personnel across various agencies are currently able to enforce public health orders.
New public health orders that went into effect Tuesday tightened restrictions, especially for people who are not fully vaccinated.
The orders include a cap of 25 people at indoor public events that include unvaccinated guests, although there will be a one-week grace period for weddings and funerals.
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Those who allow unvaccinated people on their property can now only have 10 guests outdoors, while indoor home gatherings with unvaccinated attendees are restricted to hosting one other household.
Indoor religious services, already capped at 50 per cent capacity, are now limited to 33 per cent if they allow unvaccinated people to attend.
COVID-19 Bulletin #518 https://t.co/CAy0ZtwriN pic.twitter.com/zRJitTOSqx
— Manitoba Gov News (@MBGovNews) October 7, 2021
In the southern health region, where vaccination rates are low, retail businesses are limited to half capacity.
Across the province, outdoor public gatherings are capped at 50 people, down from 500. There are exceptions for major sporting events and festivals.
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The province already requires people to show proof of vaccination to attend a range of venues, including football stadiums, concert halls, museums and restaurants.
A provincial site tracking vaccination efforts shows 85.4 per cent of eligible Manitobans have received one shot of vaccine and 81.4 have received two doses. According to the site, 2,807 vaccinations were scheduled on Thursday.
–with files from The Canadian Press
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus. In some provinces and municipalities across the country, masks or face coverings are now mandatory in indoor public spaces.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, visit our coronavirus page.