Updated 4:55 p.m. Sunday, March 22nd - In a late Sunday afternoon update, the Province announced an additional probable case of COVID-19 has been identified, bringing the total number of lab-confirmed positive and probable positive cases in Manitoba to 20.

This latest case is a man in his 40s from Winnipeg, and investigation to this point indicates the case is related to travel.

Earlier:

As of Sunday morning, no new cases of COVID-19 were identified in Manitoba since Saturday afternoon, meaning 19 cases remain at this time.

According to Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin, presumptive cases will now be referred to as “probable cases,” to stay in line with terms from Public Health.

Currently, there are 11 community testing sites open, but the government says they are working on opening more.

“The test turnaround quoted at 24-48 hours is after the lab sample is received at the lab. So if we look at a rural or remote area, the time it takes to get that sample to the lab adds on to that turnaround time. As of last week, there was some prioritization that needed to be done. Healthcare workers, samples from long-term care facilities, samples from First Nations communities, or other outbreak settings.”

This week they plan to bring that wait time back to the 24-48 hour period.

No playdates

As families prepare for the next few weeks at home while school is suspended, he reminds people to refrain from playdates and non-essential gatherings, and to continue social distancing.

“We want to ensure that Manitobans are protecting themselves, protecting the people around them, and protecting our communities.”

Dr. Roussin describes what that looks like, and how people can do their part.

“To protect yourself, wash your hands frequently, do not touch your face, cancel or postpone your travel plans.

“To protect the people around us, ensure we’re covering our cough and sneeze, staying home when we’re ill, avoiding large crowds, and disinfecting regularly used surfaces.

“To protect our communities, we need to continue to practice our social distancing efforts. This is staying home, certainly if you’re ill, but staying home for the most part if you can. Cancel large events, use reliable sources of information.”