Information about COVID-19 in Manitoba is updated weekdays at 12:30 p.m. on these DataMB dashboards:
- Case data: https://geoportal.gov.mb.ca/apps/manitoba-covid-19/.
- COVID-19 vaccination coverage:
https://geoportal.gov.mb.ca/apps/manitoba-covid-19-vaccinations-dashboard-1/.
Based on provincial data, public health officials are highlighting the following trends for the week ending Jan. 6:
- People who are not fully vaccinated are four times as likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19, 21 times as likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit and 17 times as likely to die with COVID-19. Case and risk by vaccination status data is updated each Wednesday here: https://geoportal.gov.mb.ca/apps/manitoba-covid-19-cases-and-risk-by-vaccination-status/explore.
Key Updates
- The province is opening two new testing sites in Winnipeg. Open today, the drive-thru site at 1300 Redonda St. is offering PCR tests only to those eligible for a PCR test. Non-eligible people will be turned away. Opening Thursday, Jan. 13, a second location at 820 Taylor Ave. will offer rapid antigen test pickup by appointment only. Appointments can be booked starting today. For more information about how to book an appointment and hours of operation on this and other sites, visit: https://gov.mb.ca/covid19/testing/locations.html.
- Only symptomatic individuals or those advised by public health should visit a COVID-19 provincial testing site. Rapid antigen tests will continue to be used for the majority of people visiting a provincial testing site. Those who are at higher risk of severe illness, as well as some groups who have tested positive on a rapid antigen test, will still be eligible for PCR testing. Detailed information on updated COVID-19 testing eligibility can be found at https://gov.mb.ca/covid19/testing/index.html.
Deaths
Public health officials advise four new deaths in people with COVID-19 are being reported today:
- a male in his 60s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Tuesday);
- a female in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Wednesday);
- a female in her 60s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Wednesday); and
- a male in his 90s from the Winnipeg health region and linked to the outbreak at Prairie View Lodge (reported Wednesday).
Outbreaks
Outbreaks have been declared at:
- Pembina Place Personal Care Home, Winnipeg;
- St. Norbert Personal Care Home, Winnipeg;
- Concordia Hospital, unit N3W, Winnipeg;
- Betel Home personal care home, Selkirk;
- Grace Hospital, 4 North and 2 South, Winnipeg;
- Bethania Personal Care Home, Winnipeg;
- Deer Lodge Centre, Winnipeg;
- Rideau Park Personal Care Home, Brandon; and
- Health Sciences Centre, unit GH4, Winnipeg.
Outbreaks have been declared over at:
- Lions Prairie Manor personal care home, Portage la Prairie.
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 31 warnings and 33 tickets were issued for the week of Jan. 3 to 9 including:
- one $1,296 ticket to an individual;
- 30 $298 tickets to individuals for failure to wear a mask in an indoor public place;
- one $8,550 tickets to an individual for the Federal Quarantine Act; and
- one information laid (seven public health charges) to a business for repeated offences where the courts will determine the fine amount (maximum penalty $1 million).
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.
Tickets issued by health region include:
- zero tickets in Interlake-Eastern (zero per cent);
- zero tickets in Northern (zero per cent);
- zero tickets in Prairie Mountain Health (zero per cent);
- 25 tickets in Southern Health-Santé Sud (76 per cent); and
- eight tickets in Winnipeg (24 per cent).
Vaccine
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization recently examined the interval between first and second doses for children ages five to 11 to determine if a shorter interval would provide more protection against the virus, particularly with rising Omicron cases.
NACI determined that eight weeks was still the recommended interval. Manitoba’s Pediatric Vaccine Advisory Committee also re-assessed this recommendation and re-affirmed its guidance of eight weeks between first and second doses. Public health has also maintained this recommendation.
Provincial clinics, doctor’s offices, pharmacies, community clinics and public health will continue to reiterate this recommendation. However, in some circumstances it may be possible to shorten the duration between first and second doses for this age group to a minimum of 21 days.
Parents are encouraged to discuss their concerns with a health professional before arriving for their appointment. Clinic staff will discuss individual circumstances to determine next steps for those who request an early second dose.
As of today, a total of 63,247 first doses have been given to children ages five to 11, or 50.6 per cent of that age group.
There is currently a limited supply of the Pfizer vaccine. All adults ages 30 years or older will be offered the Moderna vaccine for their first, second or third dose. This will help ensure enough Pfizer remains available for people ages 12 to 29. People under 30 receiving an mRNA vaccine may face an increased risk of myocarditis and pericarditis as a rare side effect. While this is rare after Moderna, it is even more rare after Pfizer. These side effects are rare, temporary, mild and treatable. This means that if only Moderna is available to a young person, it is still safer for them to get the Moderna vaccine than to take the risk of a COVID infection. When both vaccines are available, Manitoba wants to ensure young people are offered the option that has the lowest risk of myocarditis. People over the age of 30 did not experience the same increased risk of these side effects, regardless of which vaccine they received.
When attending a vaccine appointment, people are reminded to bring their completed consent form (available online at https://protectmb.ca ), wear a short-sleeved shirt, wear a well-fitting mask and bring their health card or other form of identification. To help support good physical distancing on site, people should arrive no more than 15 minutes before their scheduled appointment time.
Manitobans are encouraged to get their second and third doses 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 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 and eligibility criteria information can be found at:
https://manitoba.ca/covid19/vaccine/eligibility-criteria.html.
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 www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/vaccine/finder.html for some of the available options.
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
