1 new case of COVID-19 in Manitoba connected with Brandon trucking company cluster

One new case of COVID-19 has been identified in Manitoba as of Friday, connected with an outbreakat the Brandon locationof a trucking business.

The total number of people infected with the illnessconnected with Paul's Hauling in Brandon is now eight, health officials announced during their daily COVID-19 briefing.

Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. BrentRoussin said six of those cases are employees at the business and two are close contacts of those employees.

Earlier this week, aspokesperson forPaul's Haulingtold CBC News all of the employees who tested positive worked as mechanics, not truck drivers or office staff.

The first case of COVID-19 at the trucking company was contracted through community spread, Roussin said.

He said about 11 per cent of cases of the illness in Manitoba so far could not be linked to travel or a known case of COVID-19. In the last week, there have been no new cases of the illness linked to community spread.

On Friday morning, a spokesperson for Sobeys confirmed an employee at the chain'sSafeway gas bar on 18thStreet N. in Brandon tested positive for COVID-19. The employee last worked on April 30.

WATCH | Dr. Brent Roussin explains why health officials don't say where COVID-19 patients work

Dr. Brent Roussin on why health officials dont share where COVID-19 patients work

4 years ago

Duration 0:34

Manitobas Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin says contact tracing investigations are usually enough to identify people who were in close contact with a COVID-19 patient, so public health officials dont share further information about patients unless theres a risk to public health.

Roussin would not comment onwhether that casewas related to the outbreak at Paul's Hauling.

Brandon Mayor Rick Chrest said he's not worried about community spread of COVID-19 in his city, because residents are taking physical distancing and other preventive measures seriously.

"Our numbers continue to flatten, with the exception of this one kind of isolated cluster," Chrest said on Friday.

"People now understand this a little better and they know what to do.If everyone continues those measures, we won't have a lot of significant issues."

The new case at the Brandon workplace was the only additional COVID-19 case announced in Manitoba on Friday.

The update brings the total number of cases identified in Manitoba to 284, 30 of which are considered active.

Five people with COVID-19 are in hospital in Manitoba; none are in intensive care.

Seven people with COVID-19 in the province have died, and 247 have recovered.

An outbreak of COVID-19 at Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre in March has been declared over by infection prevention and control officials, said Manitoba Shared Health Chief Nursing Officer Lanette Siragusa.

That outbreak was detected in a medicine unit on March 30 and forced at least 70 staff to self-isolate.

Since then, two rounds of incubation periods have passed and most staff are back at work, Siragusa said. There are still a few people recovering at home.

Strategies like restricting visitors in hospitals and restricting patient movement within that medicine unit helped contain the spread of the virus, said Siragusa.

Siragusa said anyone hoping to send Mother's Day gifts to people in hospitals or personal care homes should check with the facility about what is allowed to be brought in.

She recommended sticking with gifts like food and clothes, and doing virtual visits as much as possible.

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On Thursday, 543 laboratory tests for the illness were done, bringing the total number of COVID-19 tests completed in Manitoba to 29,343.

Roussin said labs in Manitoba are working on antibody tests, and he hopes to provide an update on those efforts soon.

He said though the COVID-19 situation is changing quickly, it is unlikely health officials will be recommending any non-essential international, or even interprovincial, travel this summer.

"It's tough to give firm advice for what's going to happen three or four months from now," he said.

On Friday morning, Health Minister Cameron Friesen announced Manitoba is removing the 30-day limit set in March for prescriptions in the province starting Monday.

Health officials also announced on Thursday that Manitoba will continue ramping up efforts to catch up on the backlog of non-urgent medical procedures that were put on hold in March to make sure the province was ready to handle a possible surge of COVID-19 cases.

WATCH | Full the full May 8news conference on COVID-19:

Manitoba government daily briefing on coronavirus: May 8

4 years ago

Duration 42:39

Provincial officials give update on COVID-19 outbreak: Friday, May 8, 2020.