Manitoba reports 8 COVID-19 deaths, 5 flu deaths in weekly respiratory report

Health officials are reporting eight additional deaths linked to COVID-19 and five deaths connected to the flu in Manitoba.

The latest numbers are found in Friday’s latest Provincial Respiratory Surveillance Report, which covers Nov. 27 to Dec. 3 and includes both COVID-19 and seasonal flu data.

Friday’s update reports a “decreased activity” in COVID-19, although officials said wastewater surveillance data up to Dec. 1 shows “sustained activity” in both Winnipeg and Brandon.

As for the flu, Friday’s update reported “similar activity” compared to the previous week, although officials note an influx of influenza lab reports has led to flu case counts lower than expected. Officials say the data should be updated by next week.

This week’s report shows 120 new lab-confirmed cases of influenza A, down from 207 cases reported in the previous week’s update.

While the report shows less than five for the number of flu-related deaths last week, a running overall total of flu deaths reported since the season started July 3, rose five to 12.

Likewise, while the report shows less than five for the number of COVID-19-related deaths last week, the overall total of COVID-19 deaths reported since July was up eight, to 199.

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The province has said the overall totals for both COVID-19 and flu deaths can fluctuate week to week as previous cases are confirmed or removed from the list.

A spokesperson also said new reporting methods started in November mean the weekly reports will no longer include the specific number of COVID-19 and flu deaths if there are fewer than five initially reported in a week. An exact number will be given if the total is greater than five, they said.

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The latest data shows the number of new COVID-19 cases fell slightly, with 251 lab-confirmed infections identified last week, down from 281 the previous week.

Provincial COVID-19 case counts don’t necessarily give an accurate picture of active infection rates, however, because the government has significantly scaled back testing and the data doesn’t include the results of tests done at home.

According to this week’s report, 76 people were admitted to hospital as a result of COVID-19 last week, including seven requiring ICU. There were less than five hospital admissions due to influenza last week, according to the report.

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Last week’s update reported 82 COVID-19-related hospitalizations, including 19 to ICU and 19 flu-related hospitalizations, with less than five of those requiring ICU.

Since July, 171 people have been admitted to hospital due to flu, including six into ICU, according to the report.

Meanwhile, 2,045 people with COVID-19 have been admitted to hospital over the same time period, including 230 requiring ICU, according to the report.

The province’s reporting does not include data on how many people are currently in hospital or ICU as a result of COVID-19 or influenza.

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Officials say there were 14 COVID-19 outbreaks at Manitoba long-term care homes and one at a hospital during the week covered by the update. The province’s new reporting no longer includes information on which facilities have reported outbreaks.

There were three influenza outbreaks reported in Manitoba last week, according to Friday’s report.