COVID-19 variant of concern case reported in NHR, nine new cases in Flin Flon/Snow Lake district

For the first time, a COVID-19 variant of concern has been found within the Northern Health Region (NHR).

Manitoba health officials announced the news April 13 during the province's daily COVID-19 bulletin, announcing that one case of an unspecified variant was found in the north. The case would have been previously announced by the province, as variant cases are only determined to be variant cases after special screening done after a positive test is confirmed.

The location of the variant case is unknown - information about the location of variant cases, other than which of the five Manitoba health regions the case was found in, has not been released.

As of April 13, 479 total variant of concern cases have been found throughout Manitoba. Two people have died from COVID-19 variants in Manitoba.

Flin Flon/Snow Lake district

Another 132 net new COVID-19 cases were reported throughout Manitoba April 13, including 34 new cases in the NHR. Out of those 34 cases, nine new cases were found in the Flin Flon/Snow Lake/Cranberry Portage/Sherridon health district. There are, as of April 13, 20 active cases of COVID-19 in the district, up from 13 a day earlier.

The cases within the district are believed to be centred around Snow Lake – at least four COVID-19 cases have been confirmed by Hudbay at the company's Stall mill operations, leading enough workers to be sent home for isolation to temporarily shut the mill down. Several Snow Lake-area businesses and services have temporarily closed following news of cases in the community. One COVID-19 case, a close contact of one of the four Snow Lake workers, has been reported in Flin Flon.

"The NHR informed us this afternoon that there are several positive cases of COVID-19 in our health region. Cases and contact tracing are being verified and those affected are isolating at home,” read a statement posted to a Snow Lake bulletin board page by Town of Snow Lake chief administrative officer Robert Hedley.

“Further information will be put forward to the public once it becomes available. If you have questions, please contact the RHA. Thank you for your understanding and please practice good hygiene, social distance and stay safe.”

Pukatawagan

Elsewhere in the north, the April COVID-19 briefing brought some positive news for Pukatawagan/Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (MCCN)

Special public health orders for the community, which has been home to one of northern Manitoba's worst outbreaks in recent weeks, have been lifted after several recoveries from the disease.

“In partnership with the chief and council from Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, provincial public health officials have lifted the public health orders in place for that community,” reads the April 13 media briefing.

“All other general public health orders in Manitoba remain in effect for the community.”

Pukatawagan/MCCN will now be under the same health rules as most other Manitoba communities - before the outbreak took off, Manitoba health officials imposed stricter rules on the community to slow down what proved to be volatile spread.

According to provincial government statistics, there are now 146 active cases of COVID-19 in the Pukatawagan/MCCN health district.

Northern

New cases are up in the Bunibonibee/Oxford House/Manto Sipi/Gods River/Gods Lake district, where 14 new cases were reported Tuesday. Cases elsewhere in the north were spread throughout the region – three cases in Thompson/Mystery Lake, two in the Grand Rapids/Misipawistik/Moose Lake/Mosakahiken/Easterville/Chemawawin district and either one or none in all other regions. There are, as of April 13, 683 active cases of COVID-19 in the NHR.