Manitoba reported a high number of COVID-19 cases Friday, but northern communities were untouched.
Forty new cases were announced Sept. 18, with 29 of the cases found in Winnipeg. Of the province's 325 active COVID-19 cases, 239 people sick with the disease are in the provincial capital. Four new cases were found in both the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority and Prairie Mountain Health, while three cases were found in Southern Health-Sante Sud.
The Northern Health Region currently has no active cases of COVID-19 - two cases have been reported within the region in the past week, but both were later determined to have been in people whose provincial health cards were registered in northern communities who had recently moved to Winnipeg. The first case was moved to Winnipeg Sept. 17, with the second case officially moved Friday.
Manitoba has reported 1,540 cases of COVID-19 during the pandemic.
Saskatchewan has reported another 19 cases Friday, jumping their active case load up to 113. Twelve of the 18 cases were in Saskatoon, with six of those cases tied to a new outbreak at a Brandt Industries facility in the area. Four new cases were found in Regina, while three new cases came from the central west region.
The province announced a new breakthrough with COVID-19 Sept. 18, with the Health Canada COVID Alert app now available in Saskatchewan. The app, which allows for live updates on whether or not someone may have been exposed to COVID-19, is not yet live in Manitoba. The alert app uses Bluetooth to monitor when your phone is when another phone. If someone tests positive for COVID-19, they will be given a one-time use password from public health workers and any phone that was near the person during the period before they tested positive will be alerted.
Three cases are now active in far north Saskatchewan. One person who had COVID-19 in the far north west region has now recovered, while one person still has the disease in that district. Two active cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the Far North East 2 region, which contains Creighton, Denare Beach and communities near Flin Flon in Saskatchewan. No new cases have been found in the region or in the area of Manitoba near the zone in over a week.
