Provincial COVID-19 Surveillance


To guide the Public Health response to COVID-19, Epidemiology and Surveillance has been monitoring the intensity and geographic spread, characteristics of both cases and contacts, and transmission in various populations. Surveillance data collected includes syndromic, laboratory and public health investigation data about cases and contacts to detect activity in both community and in health care settings.

In this weekly COVID-19 surveillance report, we provide regular updates about the current activity of COVID-19 in Manitoba with two overall objectives:

Data are reported with a one-week delay for increased data accuracy, completeness and reliability. More analyses continue to be conducted and will be added to this report as available. It is published online at approximately 10:00am every Monday.

Week 48 (November 22 – November 28)

About epidemiological week

Data extracted up to 4:00am on December 4, 2020
Next reporting date: December 14, 2020

Provincial Summary: High Activity

In Week 48, there were 2,906 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in Manitoba, an increase from 2,549 in the previous week. The volume of lab tests decreased to on average 2,882 people tested for COVID-19 per day compared to 3,314 in the previous week, and the positivity rate of lab tests was 13.1%, a decrease from 13.6% in the previous week. The respiratory activity levels in the community, primary care and emergency rooms continued to be low.

In an examination of the 2,906 cases reported this week, majority (61%) were reported from Winnipeg Regional Health and 23% were reported from the Southern Health - Santé Sud Regional Health Authority. The remaining cases were reported from Northern Health Region (7%), Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority (5%) and Prairie Mountain Health Authority (4%).

Overall, older adults and those with underlying illnesses are at higher risk for severe outcomes as a result of COVID-19 infection.

The number of the other reported respiratory outbreaks remains low for this time of year.

Cases

About cases

  • New cases: 2,906
  • Total cases: 16,485
  • Recovered cases: 8,444
More Analyses

Testing

About testing

This week

  • Average daily specimens: 2,882
  • Weekly positivity rate: 13.1%

Total

  • Tested people: 272,130
  • Population tested: 19.9%
  • Positivity rate: 4.9%
More Analyses

Severity

About severity

Severe outcomes associated with COVID-19:

  • Hospitalizations: 1,064
    • ICU admissions: 208
  • Deaths: 353
More Analyses

Outbreaks

About outbreaks

COVID-19 outbreaks: 116

  • Outbreaks in long-term care facilities: 73
  • Outbreaks in schools: 2
More Analyses

FluWatchers

About FluWatchers

Participants reporting: 574

Reporting fever and cough: 0.3%

Check Trend

Physician Visits

About sentinal physicians

Influenza Like Illness (ILI) Visits to sentinel physicians: 0.6%

Check Trend

ED Visits

About emergency room visits

Average daily respiratory visits to emergency department (ED): 92

Check Trend

Exposure

About exposure

Source of infection in cases (% of total)

  • Travel: 1.8%
  • Close contact to cases: 53.2%
  • Unknown: 24.5%
  • Pending: 20.6%

Close contacts to cases

  • Top contact type: Household exposure
More Analyses

Risk Factors

About risk factors

  • Pregnant cases: 166
  • Health care workers**: 824
  • Recovered health care workers: 428
More Analyses

Symptoms

About symptoms

Symptomatic cases: 77.6%

Top symptoms (% of reports)

  • Cough: 46.0%
  • Headache: 39.7%
  • Fever: 31.8%
  • Muscle pain (myalgia): 30.2%
  • Sore Throat: 28.1%
More Analyses

Important Notes

  1. Data about COVID-19 cases and contacts are extracted from PHIMS.
  2. Numbers are subject to change. Missed events in the current report due to reporting delays will be included in later reports when data become available.
  3. *ICU admissions were also included in hospitalizations.
  4. **Health care workers include personnels in hospitals, long-term care settings, community health clinics and services (including agency staff), and diagnostic/laboratory services.

Cases

Figure 1. Cases of COVID-19 by Week of Public Health Report Date, Manitoba, 2020

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Figure 2. Cases of COVID-19 by Sex and Age Group, Manitoba, 2020

Figure 3. Cases of COVID-19 by Health Region and Public Health Report Date, Manitoba, 2020

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Table 1. Cases of COVID-19 by Health Region, Manitoba, 2020

Health Region Cases Percentage
Winnipeg RHA 10147 61.6%
Southern Health-Santé Sud 3236 19.6%
Interlake-Eastern RHA 1104 6.7%
Prairie Mountain Health 1024 6.2%
Northern Health Region 974 5.9%

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Testing

Figure 4. Average Daily Testing Volume and Positivity (%) for COVID-19 by Week of Specimen Receiving Date, Manitoba, 2020

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Table 2. Cumulative National Testing Volume and Positivity (%) for COVID-19 by Province/Territory, Canada, 2020

Province Confirmed Cases Tests Completed Tested Population (Estimated %) Positivity Rate (Estimated %)
Alberta 53,105 1,439,367 33.1% 3.7%
British Columbia 30,884 776,728 15.4% 4.0%
Manitoba 15,632 338,105 24.8% 4.6%
New Brunswick 477 97,995 12.7% 0.5%
Newfoundland and Labrador 331 61,457 11.8% 0.5%
Northwest Territories 15 6,302 14.0% 0.2%
Nova Scotia 1,266 136,653 14.1% 0.9%
Nunavut 159 4,064 10.5% 3.9%
Ontario 111,216 5,926,130 40.9% 1.9%
Prince Edward Island 70 57,943 37.2% 0.1%
Quebec 138,163 2,157,797 25.5% 6.4%
Saskatchewan 7,691 254,311 21.7% 3.0%
Yukon 42 5,113 12.6% 0.8%
Canada 359,064 11,262,041 30.1% 3.2%
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Note. National testing data are collected daily from the national Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Outbreak update webpage.

Severity

Figure 5. Severe Outcomes of COVID-19 by Week of Public Health Report Date, Manitoba, 2020

Note. ICU admissions are not included in the hospital admissions.

Figure 6. Age Distribution of Severe COVID-19 Cases Compared to All Cases, Manitoba, 2020

Figure 7. Percentage of COVID-19 Cases With Underlying Illnesses, Manitoba, 2020

Note. Musculoskeletal illnesses include: osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, gout and crystal Arthropathies; COPD-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CVD-cardiovascular disease; Other CVDs include: ischemic heart disease, heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and stroke; Other chronic conditions include: parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy. About definitions of chronic conditions

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Risk Factors

Table 3. Source of Infection in Health Care Workers, Manitoba, 2020

Source of infection Cases Percentage
Close contact of known case 502 60.9%
Pending 120 14.6%
Travel 11 1.3%
Unknown 191 23.2%
All Cases 824

Table 4. Roles of Health Care Workers with Non-missing Information, Manitoba, 2020

Role Cases
Allied Health and Support Staff 461
Nurse/Licensed Practical Nurse 233
Physician/Physician in training 29
First Responder 20

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Outbreaks

Figure 8. Weekly Respiratory and COVID-19 Outbreaks, Manitoba, 2017 – 2020

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FluWatchers

Figure 9. Weekly FluWatchers Participants and Percentage Reporting Fever and Cough, Manitoba, 2020

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Physician Visits

Figure 10. Weekly Percentage of ILI Related Visits to Sentinel Physicians, Manitoba, 2017 – 2020

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ED Visits

Figure 11. Weekly Respiratory Visits to Emergency Department, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, Manitoba, 2017 – 2020

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Contacts

Table 5. COVID-19 Contact Summary Table, Manitoba, 2020

Regional Health Authority Active Cases Median Contacts Min contacts Max contacts
Winnipeg Health 5899 3 0 105
Southern Health - Sante Sud 797 2 0 54
Interlake-Eastern Health 419 1 0 58
Northern Health 311 0 0 16
Prairie Mountain Health 262 3 0 48

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Symptoms

Figure 12. Percentage of Symptoms Reported by COVID-19 Cases, Manitoba, 2020

Note: Other symptoms include those less common symptoms such as sweating, runny eyes, itchy throat, etc.

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Epidemiology and Surveillance

epiCOVID@gov.mb.ca

Other Epidemiology and Surveillance reports

http://www.gov.mb.ca/health/publichealth/surveillance/index.html