21 more COVID-related deaths in Manitoba, latest weekly report says

Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in Manitoba increased in the latest Manitoba Health surveillance report, but ICU admissions have dipped from the previous week.

From Oct. 23 to 29, 116people were hospitalized with COVID-19, up from 100 the previous week, according tothe province'slatest weekly surveillance report, releasedThursday.

Seven more people were admitted to intensive care units, down from 16 ICU admissions the previous week.

There were a total of 92 adults in Manitoba intensive care units as of Wednesday night,includingpatients who did not have COVID-19, Shared Health said.

The number of COVID-related deaths in Manitoba since the beginning of the pandemic in now2,232, up 21 from the previous week's report.

During theOct. 16 to 22 reporting period, the number of deaths climbed by 12.

There were 411 lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba during the most recent reporting week, but that number is likely a significant undercountof the true number of infections, due to limited access to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. That's the only type of test result recorded by Manitoba Public Health.

A daily average of 328 PCR tests were done and the weekly test positivity rate went upto 28.7 per cent from 24per cent.

Wastewaterdata gathered by the federal governmentshows a dip inviral load atthe three Winnipeg treatment plants, which were last tested on Oct. 27.

The viral load in Brandon wastewater also dropped slightly in the last test on Oct. 25, although data showsincreased activity from early October across the province, the latest report says.

The province's next COVID-19 surveillance report is scheduled for Nov. 10.