Worst day for COVID-19 in PMH since summer
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/12/2020 (1854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The provincial government recorded 49 new COVID-19 cases in Prairie Mountain Health on Tuesday, which represents the region’s biggest single-day increase since the summer.
According to the province’s COVID dashboard, Tuesday’s jump in cases marked the region’s largest daily increase outside of the 68 new cases announced on Aug. 22.
Additionally, one of the nine new COVID-related deaths revealed on Tuesday originated from Prairie Mountain Health, with a woman in her 70s, linked to the ongoing outbreak at Fairview Personal Care Home, dying as a result of the virus.
This announcement comes at a time when seven facilities in the Westman health region are completely locked down due to COVID outbreaks, including a recent outbreak at the Brandon Correctional Centre where 37 additional staff and inmates tested positive for the virus on Tuesday.
The jail has tallied a total of 94 COVID cases since the outbreak was declared on Dec. 4, which makes it the most serious viral hot-spot in a Manitoba prison behind Headingley Correctional Centre, which has 251.
During Tuesday’s private press briefing, Dr. Jazz Atwal, the province’s acting deputy chief provincial public health officer, couldn’t confirm whether the recent jump in COVID cases within Prairie Mountain Health could be directly correlated to the ongoing situation at the Brandon jail.
However, these recent numbers are in line with the gradual increase in daily COVID cases the health region has been contending with since the fall.
While daily case counts in Prairie Mountain Health have been lower compared to a region like Winnipeg, there has been a clear upward trend since mid-October.
After an average of 13.4 cases per day in August, the health region’s average daily case count increased to 13.8 in November and has been hovering around 19.3 since the beginning of December.
Additionally, four personal care homes in the region are currently contending with outbreaks, alongside the Swan Valley Health Centre and Hamiota Health Centre acute care unit.
Overall, Prairie Mountain Health is dealing with 290 active COVID cases, the majority of which —165 — stem from Brandon.
The number of COVID-related deaths in Prairie Mountain Health sits at 25, with these fatalities originating from Brandon (11), Riding Mountain (8), Duck Mountain (2), Spruce Woods (1), Whitemud (1), Dauphin (1) and Agassiz Mountain (1).
The province identified a total of 272 new cases of the virus on Tuesday, bringing the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba up to 21,535.
The total number of deaths due to COVID in Manitoba is now 508.
» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com
»Twitter: @KyleDarbyson