The province is announcing its lowest daily number of COVID-19 deaths in weeks. 

Public health officials advise one additional death in a person with COVID-19 has been reported today:
• a female in her 40s from the Winnipeg health region.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is six per cent provincially and 3.5 per cent in Winnipeg. As of 9:30 a.m. today, 110 new cases of the virus have been identified, bringing the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba to 30,078.

Today’s COVID-19 data shows:
• 40 cases in the Northern health region; 
• 13 cases in Interlake–Eastern health region; 
• eight cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region; 
• 11 cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region; and 
• 38 cases in the Winnipeg health region.

The data also shows:
• 3,353 active cases and 25,887 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19; 
• 115 people in hospital with active COVID-19 as well as 154 people in hospital with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 269 hospitalizations;
•  23 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as 17 people with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care for a total of 40 ICU patients; and
• the total number of deaths in people with COVID-19 is 838.

Laboratory testing numbers show 2,232 tests were completed yesterday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 486,535. Case investigations continue and if a public health risk is identified, the public will be notified.

All Manitoba child-care providers working in licensed child-care centres, nursery schools and family/group child-care homes, including eligible early child development specialists or autism applied behaviour analysts/consultants, will soon be able to access Fast Pass rapid testing at 1066 Nairn Ave. in Winnipeg. Appointments for the pilot site will open to eligible child-care providers effective Feb. 8.