Public health officials advise three new deaths in people with COVID-19 are being reported today:
• a male in his 30s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the B.1.1.7 (alpha) variant of concern;
• a male in his 70s from the Prairie Mountain Health region, linked to the alpha variant of concern; and
• a male in his 80s from the Prairie Mountain Health region.

Today's data shows 14 active cases in Portage, three in rural Portage, three cases in Cartier, one in Carman, zero cases in North Norfolk, Grey, Macdonald and Whitemud, and there are 17 active cases in Seven Regions.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 5.1 per cent provincially and 4.6 per cent in Winnipeg. As of 9:30 a.m. today, 74 new cases of the virus have been identified. However, two cases were removed due to data corrections. This brings the net-new number of cases today to 72 and the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba to 56,739.

Of the 74 cases reported today, the COVID-19 data shows:
• 22 new cases in the Interlake–Eastern health region;
• five new cases in the Northern health region;
• one new case in the Prairie Mountain Health region;   
• 13 new cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region; and   
• 33 new cases in the Winnipeg health region. 

The data also shows:  
• 1,030 active cases and 54,549 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19;
• 141 Manitobans hospitalized with COVID-19 in Manitoba and neighbouring provinces including:   
- 52 people in hospital in Manitoba with active COVID-19 as well as 85 people in hospital with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious, amounting to a total of 137 hospitalizations;  
• a total of 37 Manitoba patients receiving intensive care for COVID-19 including:  
- 14 people in intensive care units in Manitoba with active COVID-19 as well as 19 people with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care, amounting to a total of 33 ICU patients in Manitoba; and  
- four Manitoba patients in intensive care units outside the province, all of whom are in Ontario;
• 41 patients previously receiving care in an out-of-province ICU have now been returned to Manitoba hospitals for further care; and  
- no COVID-19 patients were transported out of province for care yesterday;
• 1,465 laboratory tests were completed yesterday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 842,723; and
• the total number of deaths in people with COVID-19 is 1,160.

Possible exposure locations are listed online by region at the province’s #RestartMB Pandemic Response System webpage. For up-to-date information on possible public exposures to COVID-19 in regions, visit www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/updates/flights.html#event and click on your region.

Additional data on variants of concern is updated from Tuesday to Saturday at https://geoportal.gov.mb.ca/. Data related to COVID-19, outbreaks and some downloadable and historic data can also be found at this site. 

For up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Manitoba, including the online screening tool, testing criteria and locations, self-isolation requirements, public health fundamentals and the provincial response level on the #RestartMB Pandemic Response System, visit www.manitoba.ca/COVID19.