Five new variants of concern cases have been discovered in Winnipeg.

Public health officials advise that two additional deaths in people with COVID-19 are being reported today:
• a female in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at Grace Hospital unit 3 South; and
• a female in her 90s from the Winnipeg health region.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 5.3 per cent provincially and 4.3 per cent in Winnipeg. As of 9:30 a.m. today, 62 new cases of the virus have been identified. This brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba to 34,549.

An outbreak has been declared at St. Boniface Hospital unit B5. The facility has been moved to the Critical (Red) level on the #RestartMB Pandemic Response System.

Public health officials are announcing that five new screened or sequenced cases of the B.1.1.7 variants of concern have been detected, all from the Winnipeg health region.

Today’s COVID-19 data shows:
• one case in the Interlake–Eastern health region; 
• 23 cases in the Northern health region;  
• four cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region;  
• one case in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region; and  
• 33 cases in the Winnipeg health region.

The data also shows:
• 1,255 active cases and 32,352 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19; 
• 66 people in hospital with active COVID-19 as well as 74 people in hospital with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 140 hospitalizations; 
• 14 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as 16 people with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care, for a total of 30 ICU patients; 
• the total number of deaths in people with COVID-19 is 942; and
• the total number of screened or sequenced cases related to variants of concern for the following:
 B.1.1.7 is 240;
 B.1.351 is 20;
 cases that have not been categorized is 15; and
 the total number of variant of concern cases is 275.

Laboratory testing numbers show 1,386 tests were completed yesterday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 592,384.