Today's five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate has lowered to under nine per cent.

Public health officials advise four additional deaths due to COVID-19 have been reported today including:
• a female in her 50s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud region;
• a female in her 70s from the Winnipeg health region and linked to the outbreak at Victoria Hospital;
• a male in his 70s from the Winnipeg health region and linked to the Victoria Hospital outbreak; and
• a female in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region and linked to the outbreak at St. Boniface Hospital.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 8.9 per cent and Cof the virus have been identified as of 9:30 a.m. However, a case was removed as it was from out of province. This brings the total net new cases to 426 and the total lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba to 7,177.

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The test positivity rate in Winnipeg is nine per cent. Officials advise this number does not reflect the situation in other parts of the province, as cases continue to be identified outside Winnipeg.

Today’s data shows:
• 15 cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region;
• 32 cases in the Interlake–Eastern health region;
• 60 cases in the Northern health region;
• 55 cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region; and
• 265 cases in the Winnipeg health region.

The data also shows:
• 4,166 active cases and 2,920 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19;
• there are 153 people in hospital and 16 people in intensive care; and
• the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 91.

Laboratory testing numbers show 4,055 tests were completed yesterday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February to 272,901. Case investigations continue and if a public health risk is identified, the public will be notified.

Two new COVID-19 testing sites will open this week. The new sites are located in Winkler at 485 George Ave. and opens today, while a drive-up site in Winnipeg at the University of Manitoba’s SmartPark at 1 Research Rd. will open Sunday, Nov. 8. For hours of operation and more details, please visit www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/updates/testing.html.

Public health officials have advised that outbreaks have been declared at Rest Haven Care Home, Cedarwood Supportive Housing and Bethesda Place in Steinbach and Park Manor Care Home and the Health Science Centre GA4 unit in Winnipeg. The sites have been moved to Critical (red) on the #RestartMB Pandemic Response System.

The outbreaks have been declared over at Meadowood Manor in Winnipeg and the YWCA in Thompson.

In partnership with the chief and council from Peguis First Nation, provincial public health officials continue to see a trend of concerning case numbers and are working with the community and other partners to address the situation. The community has been moved to Critical (red) on the #RestartMB Pandemic Response System. The chief and council have directed that public gatherings are not permitted and community residents are required to stay at home. People should only leave their residence to seek testing or medical care, or to send one person from a household for essential supplies. People who work in essential services are able to leave their residence for work. Non-medical masks must be worn outside the home.

Other possible exposure locations are listed online by region at the province’s #RestartMB Pandemic Response System webpage. For up-to-date information on possible public exposures to COVID-19 in regions, visit www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/updates/flights.html#event and click on your region.

The chief provincial public health officer has signed new orders that will require personal care home staff and replacement agencies to comply with the restrictions on working in more than one personal care home, and exempt additional staff from the orders. The previous orders placed the obligation only to personal care home operators. These orders come into effect today.

The chief provincial public health officer urges Manitobans to not socialize with people from outside their household, to cut down the number of close contacts and avoid closed-in or crowded spaces. In addition, they should focus on these fundamentals to help stop the spread of COVID-19:
• Stay home if you are sick.
• Wash/sanitize your hands and cover your cough.
• Physically distance when you are with people outside your household.
• If you cannot physically distance, wear a mask to help reduce the risk to others or as required by public health orders.

Public health officials are also advising the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region that anyone who is symptomatic, or has a household member who is symptomatic, the entire household needs to self-isolate pending COVID-19 test results. The symptomatic individual needs to stay in their own room and, if possible, use their own bathroom and not use common areas. Exemptions are in place for asymptomatic household members if they are an essential worker required to wear PPE while at work such as health-care workers or first responders. For information on self-isolation, visit:
www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/updates/resources.html#collapse2.

Unless recommended by public health officials, only individuals experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should go for testing. Individuals with symptoms are asked to seek testing as soon as possible once symptoms are present. Employers are asked to only send employees for testing if they have symptoms or if testing has been recommended by public health officials.

The online assessment tool can be found at https://sharedhealthmb.ca/covid19/screening-tool/ and COVID-19 symptoms can be found at www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/updates/about.html#collapse4.

For up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Manitoba, visit www.manitoba.ca/COVID19.

For up-to-date information on the #RestartMB Pandemic Response System, visit:
https://manitoba.ca/covid19/restartmb/prs/index.html.