New COVID-19 cases announced in Manitoba on Wednesday

WINNIPEG — Provincial health officials have announced two new cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba. This brings the total number of cases in the province to 257.

Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba's chief provincial public health officer, made the announcement on Wednesday afternoon.

Roussin said seven people are in hospital, three of which are in intensive care. The death toll remains at six.

There are 97 active cases of the virus in the province, and 154 people have recovered.

Cadham Provincial Laboratory performed 440 tests on Tuesday, bringing the testing total to 21,601 since early February.

HEALTHCARE WORKERS WITH COVID-19

Lanette Siragusa, the chief nursing officer with Shared Health, gave an update on how COVID-19 is impacting healthcare workers.

She said 25 people have tested positive for COVID-19, four of those people have tested positive in the last week.

Siragusa added 23 of those cases are in Winnipeg and the other two cases are in the Interlake Eastern Region.

She said 15 staff have recovered from the virus and are now back at work.

CLARIFYING TESTING CRITERIA

Roussin offered some clarification on who is eligible to be tested for COVID-19.

He said all symptomatic people who go to work outside of their home are able to be tested.

"So to be clear, if you're in an industry that was not required to close as part of the public health orders and you are symptomatic, you are eligible for testing," said Roussin.

Anyone who is showing symptoms, including a cough, runny nose, a sore throat and a fever, should call Health Links at 204-788-8200 or (toll-free) at 1-888-315-9257.

For more information about COVID-19, Manitobans can visit the province's website.