No new COVID-related deaths Friday

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This article was published 15/05/2021 (2002 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The province reported no new COVID-related deaths.

They also announced 491 new lab-confirmed cases, which was reduced to a net increase of 489 following a data correction.

There are 355 active cases in Prairie Mountain Health, where 14 people are in hospital.

One person is in intensive care and 66 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the region thus far.

Variants of concern in Prairie Mountain Health are the second-highest among health regions in the province, with 397 B.1.1.7 variants recorded thus far alongside 120 unspecified cases and one of the B.1.351 variant.

It follows the Winnipeg health region, which has had 1,870 of the B.1.1.7 variant, 2,309 unspecified variants and 19 of B.1.351.

In the Brandon district within Prairie Mountain Health, there were 101 active cases of COVID-19 reported by the province on Friday.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 11.8 per cent provincially and 14.2 per cent in Winnipeg.

The following is a breakdown of new COVID-19 cases in the province Friday:

• 41 cases in the Interlake-Eastern health region

• 10 cases in the Northern health region

• 24 cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region

• 88 cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region

• 328 cases in the Winnipeg health region

There were 4,163 active cases and 39,024 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19.

Active cases saw 179 people in hospital alongside 60 people in hospital with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 239 hospitalizations.

There are 50 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 and 17 people with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care, for a total of 67 intensive care unit patients.

Those adults supported at home are being encouraged to use virtual meetings and other technology to stay connected with friends and family.

There were 3,719 laboratory tests completed Thursday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 714,218.

The First Nations Pandemic Response Coordination team’s bulletin for First Nations people across the province was updated for May 14.

There were 17 new cases of COVID-19 on reserve, 456 active cases of COVID-19, 210 presumed active cases of COVID-19, 16 current hospitalizations, five patients in intensive care units, 60 overall deaths and 416 tests completed.

Off reserve, there were 67 new COVID-19 cases, 473 active cases, 370 presumed active cases, 48 hospitalizations, 16 people in intensive care, 122 overall deaths and 187 daily tests completed.

The total variants of concern positive cases totalled 945 cases, with 509 active cases of variants of concern. The five-day test positivity rate on reserve is 11 per cent and 13 per cent off reserve.

There were no deaths reported.

For people suffering from allergies, it may mean a test for COVID-19, as the symptoms may resemble the virus, said Dr. Jazz Atwal, deputy chief provincial public health officer.

“I want to encourage all Manitobans to err on the side of caution and take the online screening tool if you’re showing typical allergy or cold symptoms. If this results in a recommendation to go for testing, please do so and self-isolate until you receive your results,” he said.

“We want you to be safe and keep those around you safe, and going for a test is the best option.”

 

VACCINE ELIGIBILITY DROPS TO AGE 12

Manitoba came one step closer to herd immunity Friday when the province announced people 12 years old and older can now make an appointment for their vaccine at any of the supersites or urban Indigenous clinics in the province, said Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead, Vaccine Implementation Task Force, in a technical briefing issued Friday morning.

Manitoba became one of the first jurisdictions in the country to allow people aged 12 to 17 to book their Pfizer vaccine appointment, a move Reimer said puts us one step closer to achieving herd immunity. There are approximately 111,000 young people aged 12 to 17 in the province.

“We believe this will help us protect even more people, more families, more communities from the third wave of COVID-19,” Reimer said.

“Being able to offer the vaccine to more Manitobans is a huge benefit in our goal of reaching herd immunity. … When we talk about herd immunity in the strict epidemiologic definition, we’re talking about a complete inability for the virus to circulate in the community.”

We would need at least 70 per cent of the entire population immunized before we can see full herd immunity, Reimer said, adding that with recent variants it might be even higher than that.

“We are studying that to see how each variant might affect the numbers we need for herd immunity.”

Regardless of whether we hit full herd immunity, the more Manitobans protected, the less the virus is able to circulate, she said.

“We can reach herd immunity faster if a large portion of the population can be immunized.”

Reimer reassured the public that the Pfizer vaccine has been tested and reviewed and found to be safe for older children. While youths are encouraged to have a parent or guardian book the appointment, she said if they come to a vaccine site without a guardian and consent form, they can go through an informed consent process with a clinical lead to assess their ability to consent on their own and proceed with the vaccine.

“Young people have access to make their own health-care decisions,” Reimer said. “Mature minors (16 and 17) are young people who have the capacity to fully appreciate the nature and the consequences of proposed health treatments, and are capable of giving informed consent for themselves.”

This news comes after Health Canada approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 12 to 15 on May 5. It has been approved for use in people aged 16 and older since Dec. 9, 2020.

“Children below 12 have a lower likelihood of being infected, demonstrating symptoms and of transmitting to others,” Reimer said. “When we look at older children, their risk becomes more similar to young adults. … We have seen that young adults are at the highest risk for transmission of the virus, with youth falling somewhere in between those two groups.”

Virus transmission is higher in young people as it survives and spreads through households and communities, Reimer said. Isolation won’t be as necessary after exposure to the virus once young people and adults receive both doses of the vaccine. The province also recommends people who are First Nations (status and non-status), Métis and Inuit, or those who self-identify as First Nations, Metis and Inuit, be the ones using the urban Indigenous clinics. Those clinics were designed to increase accessibility and culturally safe spaces, and non-Indigenous people have been booking appointments at these sites. To book an appointment for a vaccine, phone 1-844-626-8222 or do so online at https://protectmb.ca.

» kkielley@brandonsun.com