Number of active COVID-19 cases drops significantly in Manitoba

WINNIPEG — The number of active cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations in Manitoba has dropped significantly, with the province’s top doctor crediting improvements in contact tracing for helping lower the numbers.

Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s Chief Provincial Public Health Officer, reported in the daily COVID-19 update on Monday the province had managed to strengthen its contact tracing capabilities to remove more than 4,000 active COVID-19 cases as recovered.

“We have been making a number of process improvements and technology improvements over the past several weeks,” Roussin said. “This work has strengthened our overall case and contact tracing community, and (we’re) better able to meet the current demands and catch up with some of the outstanding activities.”

On Monday, there were 5,462 active cases of COVID-19, and 13,262 are now considered recovered. On Sunday, the province reported 9,216 active cases, with 9,195 people listed as recovered.

This is a drop from Sunday, which saw 9,216 active cases were reported and 9,195 people were listed as recovered from COVID-19.

Currently, 310 people are hospitalized, with 38 people are in intensive care. There were 348 people hospitalized on Sunday, with 43 patients in intensive care. Roussin said the updated numbers reflect the people in hospital who are actually infectious.

Roussin said the province reviewed older cases and closed a number of them that had recovered. He added the new automatically dialling system implemented to help with case monitoring, is responsible for 43 per cent of cases being listed as recovered.

He added work is continuing to strengthen contact tracing in the province, including building relationships with Canadian Red Cross and Statistics Canada.