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

Dr. Ashok Gupta talks about how some COVID-19 patients are fighting for condition to be classified as chronic illness.

WINNIPEG — Along with 166 new cases, Manitoba health officials reported two new COVID-19 deaths.

Announced in the province's daily COVID-19 bulletin on Saturday, the deaths include a Winnipeg man in his 80s linked to the outbreak at Holy Family Personal Care Home and a man in his 90s from the Southern Health-Santé Sud health region linked to the outbreak at Heritage Life Personal Care Home.

The COVID-19 death toll in Manitoba now sits at 825.

Of the new cases, 47 are in Winnipeg, which has a five-day test positivity rate of 4.4 per cent.

Out of the remaining cases, 26 are in the Interlake-Eastern health region, 69 are in the Northern health region, 14 are in the Prairie Mountain health region and ten are in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region.

The total number of cases in Manitoba since early March is 29,446.

The province currently has 3,526 active cases, and 25,095 people have recovered from the virus.

The current provincial five-day test positivity rate now sits at 7.3 per cent.

There are 127 contagious people in hospital with COVID-19, as well as 148 people in hospital with the virus who are no longer infectious. Thirty active COVID-19 patients and nine non-infectious patients are in the ICU.

On Friday, 1,946 tests were performed, bringing the total to 475,748 since early February.

As of the most recent vaccine update on Friday, 35,338 doses of the vaccine have been administered in Manitoba, including 29,404 first doses and 5,934 second doses.