The province of Manitoba says there is now a total of five B.1.1.529 (omicron) variant cases.

One person travelling from one of the 10 federally advised countries has contracted the new variant and infected three close contacts. All are asymptomatic.

"The new variant spreads the same way as the original COVID-19 virus," Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Jazz Atwal says in a Wednesday press conference.  

Dr. Joss Reimer says it is looking "very optimistic" that people who have booster shots will be protected against the virus.

"We want you to schedule your third dose now so that your body has two weeks after the vaccine to develop that full protection against COVID," Reimer says.

There are 178 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of cases to  69,113.

New cases by health region include:

  • 89 cases in Southern, 62  people who are not vaccinated
  • 49 cases in Winnipeg people, 22 who are not vaccinated
  • 16 cases in Interlake-Eastern, five people who are not vaccinated
  • 16 cases in Prairie Mountain, 12 people who are not vaccinated
  • eight cases in Nothern, six people who are not vaccinated

There are 1,638 people who have active cases, and 66,134 people have recovered.

Manitoba's test rate is 6.4 per cent. Winnipeg's test rate is 4.4 per cent.

 

Deaths and hospitalizations

Three more people have died, bringing the total number to 1,341.

Deaths include:

  • a male in his 70s from the Southern Health-Santé Sud health region (reported Tuesday)
  • a female in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Tuesday)
  • a male in his 80s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Tuesday)
  • a female in her 90s from the Southern Health-Santé Sud health region, linked to an outbreak at Third Crossing Manor (reported Tuesday)
  • a male in his 40s from the Southern Health-Santé Sud health region (reported Wednesday)
  • a male in his 90s from the Southern Health-Santé Sud health region linked to an outbreak at Salem Home personal care home (reported Wednesday)
  • a female in her 100s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Wednesday)
  •  

 

There are 153 people in the hospital, with 95 of those people having active cases of the virus.

There are 34 people in intensive care, with  26 of those people having active cases.

 

Outbreaks at Benito Personal Care Home and J. R. Reid School's Grade 4 class in Brandon are over.

Misericordia Health Centre's Transitional Care Unit (TCU) C5 and the Skyview unit at Lions Prairie Manor personal care home in Portage la Prairie are in outbreaks. They have been moved to Critical (Red) level on the Pandemic Response System.