COVID-19 cases soar in southern Manitoba, northern case numbers see drop

Cases of COVID-19 are hitting a fever pitch in Winnipeg and southern Manitoba - but for the moment, the dreaded third wave has not yet reached the north.

Manitoba has reported around 500 cases several times in the past week, with totals dipping down to 329 new cases province-wide May 11. Out of those 329 new cases, only eight were found in the Northern Health Region (NHR).

The Flin Flon/Snow Lake/Cranberry Portage/Sherridon district is sitting at eight active cases of COVID-19 as of May 11, reporting two new cases Tuesday. Other districts that reported new cases include the Bunibonibee/Oxford House/Manto Sipi/Gods River/Gods Lake, Cross Lake/Pimicikamak, Island Lake and The Pas/OCN/Kelsey districts.

A total of 13 people from the north are hospitalized due to COVID-19 as of May 11, including one person now in intensive care. There are now 275 active cases of COVID-19 in the NHR. No new outbreaks or possible community exposures to COVID-19 were announced in the NHR May 11.

Things are significantly worse in the south - out of the 329 new cases announced in Manitoba May 11, 235 of those cases were found in Winnipeg. The per-capita case count for the provincial capital is now significantly higher than communities in other health regions, including the north.

Variants of concern cases have exploded in Winnipeg in recent weeks. Three different types of variants of concern have been confirmed in Manitoba and a total of 4,611 people - including 3,526 people in Winnipeg - have been confirmed to have been infected with a variant of concern. More than three quarters of all variant of concern cases found in Manitoba have been found in Winnipeg - at least 24 deaths have been announced as due to variants of concern in Manitoba.

So far, the B.1.1.7 variant - also called the “UK variant” - has been responsible for most cases, with a small but growing number of cases of the B.1.351 variant - the “South Africa variant” - and the P1 variant - the “Brazil variant” - reported. An additional variant, the B.1.617 variant - the “Indian variant” or “double variant” responsible for a COVID-19 crisis in India - has been confirmed to be in Manitoba, with four cases announced late last week by provincial health officials. The province is not classifying the B.1.617 variant as a variant of concern - instead, health officials have classified it as a “variant of interest” and cases of the variant are not listed on provincial dashboards with the other three variants.

Variants of concern cases have been confirmed in Thompson and in The Pas, but as of May 11, no variant of concern cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed by health officials in the Flin Flon area. A total of 92 variant of concern COVID-19 cases have been found in the NHR.