Manitoba reports under 100 new cases as situation slowly improves

For the first time in months, Manitoba has reported less than 100 new cases of COVID-19 in a day. The province reported 90 net new cases, including nine northern cases and a new case in the Flin Flon health district.

The Flin Flon/Snow Lake/Cranberry Portage/Sherridon health district now has four active cases, up from one last week. In the past four days, three people have been reported by the province as active cases.

Provincial health officials announced eight deaths from the disease Tuesday, including one new death in the Northern Health Region (NHR) reported in a man in his 50s in the Bunibonibee/Oxford House/Manto Sipi/Gods River/Gods Lake district. That district remains one of the hottest spots for the disease province-wide, with 165 cases remaining active.

The other two main areas of concern in the north are the Shamattawa/York Factory/Tataskweyak/Split Lake and the Island Lake districts, which have 330 and 319 active cases respectively according to provincial data. Other areas of case growth include the Lynn Lake/Marcel Colomb/Leaf Rapids/O-Pipon-Na-Piwin/Granville Lake district, which now has 59 active cases after having few only two weeks ago.

No new public exposures or outbreaks were announced in northern Manitoba Tuesday.

Province-wide, 3,100 people have active COVID-19 cses and 302 people have been hospitalized due to COVID-19. Of that group, 138 people in hospital have active cases. Thirty-five people are in intensive care due to COVID-19. The province has reported 748 deaths due to the disease.

Saskatchewan has not had the same luck, with the province reporting 248 new cases Tuesday, including 20 new cases in the far north east zone. The far north east 2 zone, which includes Creighton, Denare Beach, Pelican Narrows, Sandy Bay and other communities near Flin Flon, now has 99 active COVID-19 cases, including two new cases reported Tuesday. There are 26 active cases in Pelican Narrows and five in Deschambault Lake - information about the locations of other cases is unknown.

The province has also renewed existing health measures until Jan. 29, including gathering size limits, keeping private gatherings to household members only and discouraging all non-essential interprovincial travel - travel between Flin Flon, Creighton and Denare Beach is exempt from that rule.