COVID-19 infections fall in northern regions, districts covering Flin Flon, Creighton see case drops

Rates of new COVID-19 infections are dropping throughout Manitoba, including in northern communities.

The province reported only 57 net new cases Wednesday, with province-wide five-day test positivity rates dropping down to 5.2 per cent. Of those 57 cases, 31 were found in the Northern Health Region (NHR).

Over the past two days, most of the cases found in the NHR have been reported in Thompson/Mystery Lake, which now has 77 active cases of COVID-19. Only one district in the NHR has over 100 active cases now - that district is the Island Lake district, where 395 people are listed as active cases.

The Flin Flon/Snow Lake/Cranberry Portage/Sherridon is at two active cases.

A data validation update earlier this week in Manitoba's public COVID-19 data greatly reduced the number of active cases in the north, bringing it down into the 700s. As of Wednesday, 721 people are considered to be active COVID-19 cases in northern Manitoba.

One new death in someone with COVID-19 was reported in the NHR, listed as a male in his 70s. The death was reported in The Pas/OCN/Kelsey district and is listed as being connected to two separate outbreaks in the district - one at the St. Paul's Personal Care Home and another at the St. Anthony's General Hospital dialysis unit. Since the pandemic began, 33 people from northern Manitoba have died due to COVID-19.

In total, 4,198 people in the region have contracted COVID-19. The vast majority of people who have been diagnosed with the disease are now listed as "recovered" from the disease, having tested negative.

Provincially, Manitoba reported its first confirmed case of the B.1.1.7 variant of COVID-19 - commonly referred to as the "U.K. variant" for its country of origin. The case was first reported in late January and results were announced Feb. 9. The case has been linked to international travel. Five close contacts of the original person who got sick have been identified and are quarantining. The B.1.1.7 variant is considered by researchers to be more contagious and have more serious health effects than the initial strain of COVID-19.

Manitoba now has 1,573 active cases of COVID-19 and 255 people are in hospital due to the disease, with 34 of those people in intensive care.

Saskatchewan

While Manitoba's case load has dropped, Saskatchewan's has remained more constant. The province reported another 180 cases Wednesday. However, few of the new cases have been reported in the far north east health zone - three new cases reported Wednesday, along with another three cases that were assigned to the zone after being not having locations previously confirmed.

Only one of those cases was reported in the far north east 2 health zone, which covers Creighton, Denare Beach, Pelican Narrows, Sandy Bay and other Saskatchewan communities near Flin Flon. The zone is now down to 23 active cases of COVID-19. Locations of those cases within the zone have not been provided by Saskatchewan health officials.