The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 2.2 per cent and 36 new cases of the virus have been identified as of 9:30am on October 4, 2020. Four previously announced cases have been removed from the case totals, bringing the net number of new cases today to 32 and the total number of cases in Manitoba to 2,140.

Public health officials advise the 23rd death related to COVID-19 has been reported in a previously announced case from the Winnipeg health region, a male in his 50s.

The data shows:

  • one case in the Prairie Mountain Health region;
  • five in the Interlake-Eastern health region;
  • seven cases in the Southern Health-Santé Sud health region; and
  • 23 cases in the Winnipeg health region.

The data also shows:

  • 696 active cases and 1,421 individuals have recovered from COVID-19;
  • there are 20 people in hospital and five people in intensive care; and
  • the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 23.

Laboratory testing numbers show 2,103 tests were completed yesterday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February to 192,164. Case investigations continue and if a public health risk is identified, the public will be notified.

In partnership with the chief and council from Little Grand Rapids First Nation, provincial public health officials are advising that multiple individuals in the community have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending events at the recreation centre in Little Grand Rapids First Nation from Sept. 24 to 27. People from other First Nations communities were also present. If you attended events at the recreation centre in Little Grand Rapids on those dates, contact the nursing station or health centre in your community.

Provincial public health officials are working with the community and other partners to address the situation. The community has been moved to Critical (red) on the #RestartMB Pandemic Response System. The chief and council have directed that public gatherings are not permitted, and community residents are required to stay at home. People should only leave their residence to seek testing or medical care, or to send one person from a household for essential supplies. People who work in essential services are able to leave their residence for work. Non-medical masks must be worn outside the home.

The public is being advised of possible exposures at these sites:

  • Hooters Restaurant at 1501 St. Matthews Ave. in Winnipeg on Sept. 24 from 4 to 11 p.m.;
  • 1600-2300 Bourbon Billiards at 241 Vaughan St. in Winnipeg on Sept. 25 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.;
  • Earls Polo Park at 1455 Portage Ave. in Winnipeg on Sept. 25 from 10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.;
  • Montana’s Polo Park at 665 Empress St. in Winnipeg on Sept. 25 from 9 to 10 p.m.; and
  • Crspy Bnch on 806 Sargent Ave. in Winnipeg on Sept. 26 from 11 a.m. until noon.

People who attended any of the above locations on the dates/times listed should self-monitor for symptoms and immediately isolate if they develop and seek testing.

Public health officials also advised of a possible airline exposure on Air Canada flight 296 (affected rows 27 to 31) from Vancouver to Winnipeg on Sept. 27. Individuals in the affected rows on this flight are advised to self-isolate for 14 days following the flight and monitor for symptoms. Passengers on this flight, but not in the affected rows, should self-monitor for symptoms and self-isolate if they develop.

The Health Canada COVID Alert app is now available to Manitoba residents and provides digital COVID-19 exposure alerts once the app is downloaded to a smartphone. It is available at no cost in the Apple and Google Play app stores. For more information, visit manitoba.ca.

The chief provincial public health officer strongly encourages Manitobans to reduce the number of close contacts outside their household, and avoid closed-in or crowded spaces. In addition, they should focus on these fundamentals to help stop the spread of COVID-19:

  • Stay home if you are sick.
  • Wash/sanitize your hands and cover your cough.
  • Physically distance when you are with people outside your household.
  • If you cannot physically distance, wear a mask to help reduce the risk to others or as required by public health orders.

Unless recommended by public health officials, only individuals experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should go for testing. Individuals with symptoms are asked to seek testing as soon as possible once symptoms are present. Employers are asked to only send employees for testing if they have symptoms or if testing has been recommended by public health officials.

The online assessment tool can be found at sharedhealthmb.ca and COVID-19 symptoms can be found at gov.mb.ca.

For up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Manitoba, visit manitoba.ca.

For up-to-date information on the #RestartMB Pandemic Response System, visit manitoba.ca.