Province of Manitoba Media Bulletin
December 15, 2021
Public health officials advise four new deaths in people with COVID-19 are being reported today:
a male in his 50s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Tuesday);
a male in his 60s from the Interlake-Eastern health region (reported Tuesday);
a male in his 60s from the Prairie Mountain Health region (reported Wednesday); and
a male in his 70s from the Interlake-Eastern health region (reported Wednesday).
Today's five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 6.2 per cent provincially and 4.4 per cent in Winnipeg. As of 9:30 a.m. today, 370 new cases of the virus have been identified since Monday: 164 cases on Tuesday, Dec. 14 and 206 cases today. This includes: RegionCasesInterlake-Eastern health region27Northern health region41Prairie Mountain Health region42Southern Health-Santé Sud health region109Winnipeg health region151Nine cases have been removed due to data correction. The total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba is 70,340. There were 206 new cases identified in Manitoba today. Of these, 110 are in individuals who were not fully vaccinated. This includes: RegionCasesNot Fully VaccinatedInterlake-Eastern health region17nineNorthern health region13fourPrairie Mountain Health region2313Southern Health-Santé Sud health region7346Winnipeg health region7838Today’s data also shows:
1,779 active cases and 67,204 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19;
139 Manitobans hospitalized with COVID-19 including 88 people with active COVID-19 as well as 51 people who are no longer infectious;
a total of 34 Manitoba patients receiving intensive care for COVID-19 including 26 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as eight people who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care;
one new case of B.1.1.529 (omicron) variant has been confirmed in Manitoba for a total of six;
3,171 laboratory tests were completed yesterday bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 1,217,584; and
the total number of deaths in people with COVID-19 is 1,357.
Outbreaks have been declared over at:
Country Meadows Personal Care Home;
Ecole Assiniboine, Grade 5 class; and
Portage District General Hospital Dialysis Unit.
Vaccine To have the fullest protection possible against COVID-19 going into the holiday season, Manitobans are encourages to get their second and third dose as quickly as possible. While COVID-19 vaccine appointments continue to be available at regional or provincial vaccine clinics, for many people the fastest way to be immunized is at a nearby medical clinic, pharmacy or urban Indigenous clinic. Check the online vaccine finder or with a medical clinic or pharmacy near you that provides the COVID-19 vaccine to find the next available opportunity to be immunized. The timeline between second and third doses is being shortened for some individuals. Anyone ages 60 or older or those ages 18 or older who live in a First Nations community who received their second dose on or before July 10 are now strongly encourages to receive their third dose. A six-month timeframe between second and third doses continues to be recommended for most other eligible Manitobans. More information is available at https://manitoba.ca/covid19/vaccine/eligibility-criteria.html#third. Eligibility for first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine continues to include anyone ages five or older. Second-dose appointments can be made for children ages five to 11. The interval between first and second doses must be a minimum of eight weeks, or a minimum of 21 days for children living in First Nations communities.
A total of 2,283,775 doses of vaccine have been administered in Manitoba, including 47,952 first doses given to children ages five to 11. This represents 38 per cent of children in that age group. As of today, 83.9 per cent of all eligible Manitobans ages five and up have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 78.1 per cent have received two doses.
Many Manitoba vaccine sites as well as pharmacies and clinics are offering walk-in and appointment-based vaccination for COVID and seasonal flu. Eligible individuals can book their appointments online, by calling (toll-free) 1-844-626-8222 (1-844-MAN-VACC), or by contacting their local pharmacy or medical clinic directly. Visit https://www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/vaccine/finder.html for some of the available options.
Enforcement
The Manitoba government is also providing an update on ongoing enforcement efforts to protect Manitobans from the spread of COVID-19. A total of 27 warnings and 18 tickets were issued for the week of Dec. 6 to 12 including:
four $1,296 tickets to individuals; and
14 $298 tickets to individuals for failure to wear a mask in an indoor public place.
Manitobans are urged to continue reporting compliance and enforcement issues by visiting www.manitoba.ca/COVID19 and completing the reporting form, or by calling 204-945-3744 or (toll-free) 1-866-626-4862 and pressing option three on the call menu. Updated enforcement statistics are posted online weekly at https://manitoba.ca/openmb/infomb/departments/index.html#cdr.
More resources
Vaccine campaign in Manitoba: www.manitoba.ca/vaccine and https://protectmb.ca.
Possible exposure locations by region: www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/updates/flights.html#event.
Data related to COVID-19, variants of concern, outbreaks and some downloadable and historic data: https://geoportal.gov.mb.ca/.
Up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Manitoba: www.manitoba.ca/COVID19.
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