Manitoba woman dies of COVID-19: health officials

Fifth Manitoban dies from COVID-19 CTV’s Maralee Caruso has the latest on the fight against COVID-19, including reports of the fifth death from the virus in Manitoba

WINNIPEG — A Manitoba woman in her 60s from the Prairie Mountain Health Region has died of COVID-19, provincial health officials have announced.

The news of the latest death related to COVID-19 was announced on Wednesday at the Manitoba Legislature. Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief provincial public health officer said the woman had underlying health conditions and this now brings the total number of virus-related deaths in the province to five.

Roussin announced two additional cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and said two probable cases of COVID-19 tested negative, leaving the total number of cases in Manitoba at 246.

Nine people have been hospitalized and four of them are in intensive care.

So far, 108 people have recovered from the virus. There are 132 active cases in the province.

There were 305 tests completed at the Cadham Provincial Laboratory on Tuesday, bringing the total tests completed in the province to 17,902.

With fewer cases of COVID-19 announced in the past week in Manitoba, Roussin cautioned Manitobans not to interpret this as a reduction in the risk.

RISK OF COVID-19 HAS NOT REDUCED

"These numbers likely reflect Manitoban's efforts at our strict social distancing strategies, as well as public health efforts at case identification, contact identification, and isolation," Roussin said.

"This is reaffirming that these measures have been effective, but need to be continued."

Roussin said the virus is in every health region in Manitoba, and there has been evidence of community spread. He encouraged Manitobans to keep following the physical distancing guidelines.

READ MORE: What you need to know about physical distancing, self-isolation and COVID-19 testing

"We cannot loosen up our social distancing strategies. We need to continue with them right now, we need to address these next couple critical weeks in this outbreak," Roussin said.

"We know that we are going to deal with this virus for quite some time, but not necessarily to the degree that we are looking at right now. We should be optimistic, but we should not loosen our grip right now on these measures."

OUR HOSPITALS ARE SAFE: ROUSSIN

Roussin encouraged Manitobans to stay home if they are feeling mildly sick, but they should not be afraid to go to hospitals for medical issues.

"Our hospitals are safe, our health professionals take every precaution, our health care system has been building its capacity," said Roussin. "Certainly do not avoid necessary medical care. Stay in touch with your health care providers."

Roussin said if Manitobans have an acute condition, people should not delay getting attention.

"Do not let other health issues get out of hand during these times."

Any person concerned about their exposure to or risk of having COVID-19 should call Health Links–Info Santé at 204-788-8200 or toll-free at 1-888-315-9257. People who have serious health issues should call 911, go to an emergency department or an urgent care centre.