The Government of Manitoba is sharing that a total of 108 people have recovered from COVID-19 but a fifth resident has died from the virus.

A fifth Manitoban has died from COVID-19 in Manitoba. Health officials say a woman in her 60’s has died. She lived in the Prairie Mountain Health Region.

Meanwhile, two new cases of COVID-19 were identified as of 9:30 Wednesday morning. In addition, two cases that had been considered probable have been ruled as negative, so the total number of lab-confirmed positive and probable positive cases in Manitoba remains at 246.

Within Southern Health, there are 27 total cases. Of those, 22 are confirmed positive, while the other five are probable positive.

The data also shows nine individuals are currently hospitalized, which includes four individuals in intensive care; and 132 active cases and 108 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19.

Cadham Provincial Laboratory performed 305 tests Tuesday. A total of 17,902 tests have been performed since early February.

Dr. Brent Roussin, Chief Provincial Public Health Officer, says Manitobans should not interpret current case numbers to mean the risk of COVID-19 is reduced, adding the current statistics may be a reflection of the effect strict social distancing measures have had and reaffirms that these measures must be continued.

"We need to address these next couple of critical weeks in this outbreak and then week can start to look at the possibilty of loosening some of these measures," explained Dr. Roussin. "We know that we are going to deal with this virus for quite some time but not necessarily to the degree that we are right now, so we should be optimistic but we should not loosen our grip right now. I want to thank Manitobans for all of their efforts which are starting to show in our numbers."

Dr. Roussin added however, there are times when people do need to go out to help those need it, particularly those with disabilities, saying there may be moments when physical distancing isn't attainable.

"This is certainly acceptable. There are a lot of precautions people can put in place," said Dr. Roussin. "So we should be mindful of that and not be too judgemental in our frame of mind right now," noting we need to ensure all Manitobans are safe during this time.

The second Community COVID-19 Testing Site and Assessment Clinic in Winnipeg opened today at Sergeant Tommy Prince Place, 90 Sinclair St. The site will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week. This new site will assume testing responsibilities from Mount Carmel Clinic, which will return to its mandate of offering primary care services to the community. The first co-located testing site and assessment clinic opened at the St. James Centennial Pool last week.

Assessment clinics for COVID-19 patients offer primary care services on an appointment basis for anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or has respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat or shortness of breath. In addition to the primary care space, these locations also serve as designated testing sites in a separate area at the site.

Health officials continue to remind Manitobans to seek medical attention when it is required. For serious health issues call 911, go to an emergency department or an urgent care centre. Hospitals are safe places and health-care providers will ensure every precaution is taken while providing care.

Any person concerned about their exposure to or risk of having COVID-19 should call Health Links–Info Santé at 204-788-8200 or (toll-free) at 1-888-315-9257 to be screened to see if a test is required.

For up-to-date information on community screening sites, visit:www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/locations.html.

For more information and to access the online screening tool for COVID-19, visit:www.manitoba.ca/covid19.

A comprehensive list of Manitoba government COVID-19 measures can be found at:https://manitoba.ca/bg/2020/04/covid19.html.