Today’s five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 33.1 per cent provincially. As of 9:30am on January 19, 2021, 919 new cases of the virus have been identified. The province estimates that actual case numbers are eight to 10 times higher than reported due to the rapid spread of the omicron variant, which has overwhelmed testing capacity and led to many cases going unreported.

Information about COVID-19 in Manitoba is updated weekdays at 12:30pm on these DataMB dashboards:

Based on provincial data, public health officials are highlighting the following trends for the week ending Jan. 13:

People who are not fully vaccinated are three times as likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19, 11 times as likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit and 10 times as likely to die with COVID-19. Case and risk by vaccination status data is updated each Wednesday at geoportal.gov.mb.ca.

Key Updates

Only symptomatic individuals or those advised by public health should visit a COVID-19 provincial testing site. Rapid antigen tests will continue to be used for the majority of people visiting a provincial testing site. Those who are at higher risk of severe illness as well as some groups who have tested positive on a rapid antigen test will still be eligible for PCR testing. Detailed information on updated COVID-19 testing eligibility can be found at gov.mb.ca.

Deaths

Public health officials advise 15 new deaths in people with COVID-19 are being reported today:

  • a male in his 80s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Tuesday);
  • a female in her 90s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Tuesday);
  • a male in his 90s from the Winnipeg health region and linked to the outbreak at Actionmarguerite St. Boniface (reported Tuesday);
  • a female in her 60s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Wednesday);
  • a male in his 70s from Southern Health-Santé Sud (reported Wednesday);
  • a male in his 80s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Wednesday);
  • a female in her 60s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Wednesday);
  • a male in his 40s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Wednesday);
  • a male in his 80s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Wednesday);
  • a male in his 80s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Wednesday);
  • a male in his 70s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Wednesday);
  • a female in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Wednesday);
  • a female in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Wednesday);
  • a female in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Wednesday); and
  • a male in his 70s from Prairie Mountain Health region (reported Wednesday).

Outbreaks

Outbreaks have been declared at:

  • St. Boniface Hospital, M2, Winnipeg;
  • River East personal care home, Winnipeg;
  • Concordia Hospital, N3 East, Winnipeg;
  • Health Sciences Centre, PX2 East, Winnipeg; and
  • Gillam Hospital, Gillam.

Outbreak declared over at:

  • Portage Evangelical Church, Portage la Prairie.

Enforcement

The Manitoba government is also providing an update on ongoing enforcement efforts to protect Manitobans from the spread of COVID-19. A total of 28 warnings and 27 tickets were issued for the week of Jan. 10 to 16 including:

  • four $1,296 tickets to individuals;
  • 21 $298 tickets to individuals for failure to wear a mask in an indoor public place; and
  • two $5,000 tickets to businesses.

Manitobans are urged to continue reporting compliance and enforcement issues by visiting www.manitoba.ca/COVID19 and completing the reporting form, or by calling 204-945-3744 or (toll-free) 1-866-626-4862 and pressing option three on the call menu. Updated enforcement statistics are posted online weekly at: manitoba.ca.

Tickets issued by health region include:

  • zero tickets in Interlake-Eastern (zero per cent);
  • two tickets in Northern (seven per cent);
  • one ticket in Prairie Mountain Health (four per cent);
  • 18 tickets in Southern Health-Santé Sud (67 per cent); and
  • six tickets in Winnipeg (22 per cent).

Vaccine

The RBC provincial vaccine clinic is re-opening its doors for walk-in appointments beginning Jan. 20. This is a good opportunity for the whole family to get first, second and third doses.

Manitobans who are eligible for a third dose or booster are urged to get one. The booster dose is readily available to everyone over age 18 in Manitoba. It is most important that those who are 50 and over get immunized with a third dose right away, because this age group is experiencing – and will continue to experience – more severe outcomes, including hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths.

Manitobans who live in First Nations communities, have diabetes, or are immunocompromised are urged to get a third dose. A complete listing of the medical conditions that would classify a person as immunocompromised can be found at protectmb.ca.

Delivering the second round of vaccines to children ages 5 to 11 gets underway this week. It is recommended by Health Canada, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization and public health that the second dose be administered eight weeks following the first dose.

As of today, a total of 66,654 first doses have been given to children ages five to 11, or 53.3 per cent of that age group.

When attending a vaccine appointment, people are reminded to bring their completed consent form (available online at protectmb.ca), wear a short-sleeved shirt, wear a well-fitting mask and bring their health card or other form of identification. To help support good physical distancing on site, people should arrive no more than 15 minutes before their scheduled appointment time.

Manitobans are encouraged to get their second and third doses as quickly as possible. While COVID-19 vaccine appointments continue to be available at regional or provincial vaccine clinics, for many people the fastest way to be immunized is at a nearby medical clinic, pharmacy or urban Indigenous clinic. Check the online vaccine finder or a medical clinic or pharmacy near you that provides the COVID-19 vaccine to find the next available opportunity to be immunized. The timeline between second and third doses and eligibility criteria information can be found at manitoba.ca.

Eligible individuals can book their appointments online, by calling (toll-free) 1-844-626-8222 (1-844-MAN-VACC) or by contacting their local pharmacy or medical clinic directly. Visit gov.mb.ca for some of the available options.

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