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 47 (November 15 – November 21)

About epidemiological week

Data extracted up to 4:00am on November 27, 2020
Next reporting date: December 7, 2020

Provincial Summary: High Activity

In Week 47, there were 2,549 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in Manitoba, a decrease from 2,841 in the previous week. The volume of lab tests increased to on average 3,314 people tested for COVID-19 per day compared to 3,018 in the previous week, and the positivity rate of lab tests was 13.6%, an increase from 12.8% 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 2,549 cases reported this week, majority (57%) were reported from Winnipeg Regional Health and 25% were reported from the Southern Health - Santé Sud Regional Health Authority. The remaining cases were reported from Northern Health Region (9%), 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: 2,549
  • Total cases: 13,592
  • Recovered cases: 6,315
More Analyses

Testing

About testing

This week

  • Average daily specimens: 3,314
  • Weekly positivity rate: 13.6%

Total

  • Tested people: 260,725
  • Population tested: 19.1%
  • Positivity rate: 4.4%
More Analyses

Severity

About severity

Severe outcomes associated with COVID-19:

  • Hospitalizations: 852
    • ICU admissions: 169
  • Deaths: 269
More Analyses

Outbreaks

About outbreaks

COVID-19 outbreaks: 106

  • Outbreaks in long-term care facilities: 68
  • Outbreaks in schools: 2
More Analyses

FluWatchers

About FluWatchers

Participants reporting: 615

Reporting fever and cough: 0.8%

Check Trend

Physician Visits

About sentinal physicians

Influenza Like Illness (ILI) Visits to sentinel physicians: 0.9%

Check Trend

ED Visits

About emergency room visits

Average daily respiratory visits to emergency department (ED): 85

Check Trend

Exposure

About exposure

Source of infection in cases (% of total)

  • Travel: 2.1%
  • Close contact to cases: 52.6%
  • Unknown: 23.8%
  • Pending: 21.5%

Close contacts to cases

  • Top contact type: Household exposure
More Analyses

Risk Factors

About risk factors

  • Pregnant cases: 127
  • Health care workers**: 637
  • Recovered health care workers: 280
More Analyses

Symptoms

About symptoms

Symptomatic cases: 76.9%

Top symptoms (% of reports)

  • Cough: 45.7%
  • Headache: 40.7%
  • Fever: 31.7%
  • Muscle pain (myalgia): 30.9%
  • Sore Throat: 28.4%
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 8384 61.7%
Southern Health-Santé Sud 2569 18.9%
Interlake-Eastern RHA 950 7.0%
Prairie Mountain Health 920 6.8%
Northern Health Region 769 5.7%

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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 43,952 1,388,093 31.9% 3.2%
British Columbia 25,474 727,259 14.4% 3.5%
Manitoba 12,919 317,596 23.3% 4.1%
New Brunswick 401 92,022 11.9% 0.4%
Newfoundland and Labrador 311 58,331 11.2% 0.5%
Northwest Territories 15 6,083 13.5% 0.2%
Nova Scotia 1,160 127,687 13.2% 0.9%
Nunavut 84 3,723 9.6% 2.3%
Ontario 100,790 5,636,643 38.9% 1.8%
Prince Edward Island 68 54,253 34.9% 0.1%
Quebec 129,699 2,090,715 24.7% 6.2%
Saskatchewan 5,804 239,727 20.5% 2.4%
Yukon 29 4,509 11.1% 0.6%
Canada 320,719 10,746,717 28.7% 3.0%
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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 374 58.7%
Pending 103 16.2%
Travel 11 1.7%
Unknown 149 23.4%
All Cases 637

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

Role Cases
Allied Health and Support Staff 361
Nurse/Licensed Practical Nurse 169
Physician/Physician in training 27
First Responder 19

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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 5244 3 0 105
Southern Health - Santé Sud 784 2 0 45
Interlake-Eastern Health 442 1 0 58
Northern Health 304 0 0 26
Prairie Mountain Health 234 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

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