Provincial Respiratory Surveillance Report

COVID-19 and Seasonal Influenza


This report provides a current epidemiological update on the intensity and severity of COVID-19 in Manitoba. Surveillance and administrative data include laboratory, public health case and contact tracing investigations, hospitalization and mortality data. Data are presented at the provincial and regional level; and include a focussed review on the disproportional impact of COVID-19 on various populations in the province.

Epidemiology and Surveillance also continues to monitor the activity of seasonal influenza in Manitoba during this pandemic. During the 2020–2021 influenza season, routine reporting of seasonal influenza is included in this weekly report.

In this weekly respiratory surveillance report, we provide regular updates about the current activity of COVID-19 and seasonal influenza in Manitoba with 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 32 (August 8 – August 14)

About epidemiological week

Data extracted up to 4:00 am on August 20, 2021
Next reporting date: August 30, 2021

COVID-19: Decreased Activity

In Week 32, there were 189 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in Manitoba, the same as the previous week. The volume of lab tests increased to on average 1,597 people tested for COVID-19 per day compared to 1,353 in the previous week, and the positivity rate of lab tests was 1.9%, a decrease from 2.4% in the previous week.

In the 189 cases reported this week, 41% were reported from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and 23% were reported from Southern Health - Santé Sud Regional Health Authority. The remaining cases were reported from Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority. (19%), Northern Health Region (11%), and Prairie Mountain Health Authority (6%).

This week, 135 cases of variants of concern (VOCs) have been reported, an increase from 119 in the previous week. Additionally, cases of VOCs accounted for 71% of new cases reported this week.

As of August 14, a total of 1,857,177 doses of COVID19 vaccines have been administered and 80.9% of residents aged 12 years and older in Manitoba have been immunized with at least one dose.

Cases

About cases

  • New cases: 189
  • Total cases: 58,027
  • Total VOC cases: 16,998
  • Recovered cases: 56,629
More Analyses

Testing

About testing

This week

  • Average daily specimens: 1,597
  • Weekly positivity rate: 1.9%

Total

  • Tested people: 526,619
  • Population tested: 38.6%
  • Specimens tested: 896,523
  • Positivity rate: 7.0%
More Analyses

Severity

About severity

Severe outcomes associated with COVID-19:

  • Hospitalizations: 4,012
    • ICU admissions3: 910
  • Deaths: 1,188
More Analyses

Outbreaks

About outbreaks

COVID-19 outbreaks: 242

  • Outbreaks in long-term care facilities: 120
  • Outbreaks in schools: 6
More Analyses

Exposure

About exposure

Source of infection in cases (% of total)

  • Travel: 1.3%
  • Close contact to cases: 55.9%
  • Unknown: 24.8%
  • Pending: 18.0%

Top five outbreak/cluster/special investigation settings4

  • Workplace: 33.8%
  • Industrial setting: 17.6%
  • Daycare: 10.3%
  • Acute care setting: 7.8%
  • School: 7.8%
More Analyses

Transmission and Acquisition

About transmission and acquisition

Top five transmission settings in all cases5

  • Household: 61.6%
  • Social gathering: 11.7%
  • Workplace: 9.9%
  • Transportation: 4.4%
  • School: 3.2%

Top five acquisition settings in cases with unknown source of infection6

  • Household: 50.8%
  • Workplace: 32.9%
  • Retail: 18.9%
  • Social gathering: 14.8%
  • Transportation: 6.8%
More Analyses

Symptoms

About symptoms

Symptomatic cases: 73.2%

Top symptoms (% of reports)

  • Cough: 46.2%
  • Headache: 38.1%
  • Fever: 32.0%
  • Muscle pain (myalgia): 28.3%
  • Sore Throat: 27.5%
More Analyses

Risk Factors

About risk factors

  • Pregnant cases: 713
  • Health care workers7: 2,586
  • Deceased health care workers: 4
  • Recovered health care workers: 2,574
More Analyses

Seasonal Influenza: Low Activity

A large number of respiratory specimens continued to be tested for seasonal influenza. There were no laboratory-confirmed influenza cases reported in Manitoba in Week 32.

As of August 14, 31.6% of residents in Manitoba have been immunized with seasonal influenza vaccines.

Influenza Cases

About cases

New cases this week

  • Influenza A: 0
  • Influenza B: 0

Total cases from September 1, 2020

  • Influenza A: 4
  • Influenza B: 3

Syndromic Indicators: Low Activity

The respiratory activity levels in the community, primary care and emergency rooms continued to be low for this time of a year. The number of respiratory outbreaks reported that were not due to COVID-19 remains low.

FluWatchers

About FluWatchers

Participants reporting: 547

Reporting fever and cough: 0.6%

Check Trend

Physician Visits

About sentinal physicians

Influenza Like Illness (ILI) Visits to sentinel physicians: 0.0%

Check Trend

Antiviral

About Antiviral

Units of antiviral dispensed from pharmacies: 0

ED Visits

About emergency room visits

Average daily respiratory visits to emergency department (ED): 118

Check Trend

Important Notes

  1. Data about COVID-19 cases and contacts aswell as influenza cases 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. The top five settings where cases are found to be linked with an outbreak or cluster or special investigation.
  5. Transmission settings include those settings exposed during a case’s communicability period, i.e., 48 hours prior to the development of overt symptoms in the case until the case is classified as no longer infectious. Percentages are calculated using total cases counts as a denominator. Categories are NOT mutually exclusive.
  6. Acquisition settings include those settings exposed during a case’s incubation period, i.e., 14 days before symptom onset date. Percentages are calculated using community-transmitted case counts as a denominator for acquisition settings. Categories are NOT mutually exclusive.
  7. 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, August 16, 2020 – August 14, 2021

Note. Deaths due to COVID-19 were aligned by week of death date.
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Figure 2. COVID-19 Cases of Variants of Concern (VOC) by Type and Percentage of VOC Cases in All Cases by Week of Public Health Report Date, Manitoba, August 16, 2020 – August 14, 2021

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Figure 3. Sex and Age Distribution of COVID-19 Cases, March 1, 2020 – August 14, 2021

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Figure 4. Cases of COVID-19 by Health Region and Public Health Report Date, Manitoba, September 1, 2020 – September 1, 2021

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Table 1. Cases of COVID-19 by Health Region, Manitoba, March 13, 2020 – August 14, 2021

Health Region Cases Percentage
Winnipeg RHA 34007 58.6%
Southern Health-Santé Sud 7715 13.3%
Interlake-Eastern RHA 4265 7.4%
Prairie Mountain Health 4027 6.9%
Northern Health Region 8013 13.8%

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Testing

Figure 5. Average Daily Testing Volume and Positivity (%) for COVID-19 by Week of Specimen Receiving Date, Manitoba, August 16, 2020 – August 14, 2021

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Table 2. Cumulative National Testing Volume and Positivity (%) for COVID-19 by Province/Territory, Canada, March 13, 2020 – August 14, 2021

Province Confirmed Cases Tests Completed Test Rate in Population (Estimated %) Positivity Rate (Estimated %)
Alberta 238,939 4,937,985 113.5% 4.8%
British Columbia 155,079 3,211,497 63.6% 4.8%
Manitoba 57,972 938,508 68.8% 6.2%
New Brunswick 2,490 402,251 52.0% 0.6%
Newfoundland and Labrador 1,447 316,227 60.5% 0.5%
Northwest Territories 131 26,139 58.2% 0.5%
Nova Scotia 5,919 1,063,500 110.0% 0.6%
Nunavut 657 18,719 48.4% 3.5%
Ontario 554,472 16,654,507 115.0% 3.3%
Prince Edward Island 218 181,573 116.7% 0.1%
Quebec 380,833 10,533,499 124.7% 3.6%
Saskatchewan 51,034 977,679 83.5% 5.2%
Yukon 647 9,129 22.5% 7.1%
Canada 1,449,851 39,271,289 105.0% 3.7%

Note. National testing data are collected daily from the national Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Outbreak update webpage.

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Severity

Figure 6. Severe Outcomes of COVID-19 by Week of Public Health Report Date, Manitoba, August 16, 2020 – August 14, 2021

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

Figure 7. Age Distribution of Severe COVID-19 Cases Compared to All Cases, Manitoba, March 13, 2020 – August 14, 2021

Figure 8. Percentage of COVID-19 Cases With Underlying Illnesses, Manitoba, March 13, 2020 – August 14, 2021

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 with Non-missing Information, Manitoba, March 13, 2020 – August 14, 2021

Source of Infection Cases Percentage
Close contact of known case 1514 58.5%
Pending 197 7.6%
Travel 27 1%
Unknown 848 32.8%
All Cases 2586

Table 4. Roles of Health Care Workers with Non-missing Information, Manitoba, March 13, 2020 – August 14, 2021

Role Cases Percentage
Allied Health, Health Professionals, and Support Staff 1581 61.1%
Nurse/Licensed Practical Nurse 667 25.8%
Not identified 194 7.5%
Physician/Physician in training 88 3.4%
First Responder 56 2.2%
All Cases 2586

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Outbreaks

Figure 9. Weekly Respiratory and COVID-19 Outbreaks, Manitoba, 2018 – 2021

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Contacts

Table 5. COVID-19 Contact Summary in All Cases, Manitoba, March 13, 2020 – August 14, 2021

Regional Health Authority Cases Median Contacts Minimum Contacts Maximum Contacts
Winnipeg Health 34007 3 0 249
Northern Health 8013 1 0 121
Southern Health - Sante Sud 7715 2 0 69
Interlake-Eastern Health 4265 1 0 76
Prairie Mountain Health 4027 3 0 134

Table 6. COVID-19 Contact Summary in New Cases Reported in Week 32, Manitoba, 2021

Regional Health Authority Cases Median Contacts Minimum Contacts Maximum Contacts
Winnipeg Health 77 3 0 39
Southern Health - Sante Sud 43 2 0 20
Interlake-Eastern Health 37 4 0 19
Northern Health 20 6 0 13
Prairie Mountain Health 12 6 2 10

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Figure 10. Percentage of COVID-19 Cases Linked to Top-five Cluster/Outbreak/Special Investigation Settings, Manitoba, January 24, 2021 – August 14, 2021

Note: COVID-19 public health orders in Manitoba since January 23, 2021: PH order #1 (effective January 23, 2021), PH order #2 (effective March 5, 2021), PH order #3 (effective March 26, 2021), PH order #4 (effective April 19, 2021), PH order #5 (effective April 28, 2021), PH order #6 (effective May 9, 2021), PH order #7 (effective May 22, 2021), PH order #8 (effective May 29, 2021), PH order #9 (effective June 12, 2021), PH order #10 (effective June 26, 2021), PH order #11: (effective July 17, 2021). Content of Public Health Orders

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Figure 11. Percentage of Total COVID-19 Cases Exposed to Top-five Transmission Settings, Manitoba, January 24, 2021 – August 14, 2021

Note: COVID-19 public health orders in Manitoba since January 23, 2021: PH order #1 (effective January 23, 2021), PH order #2 (effective March 5, 2021), PH order #3 (effective March 26, 2021), PH order #4 (effective April 19, 2021), PH order #5 (effective April 28, 2021), PH order #6 (effective May 9, 2021), PH order #7 (effective May 22, 2021), PH order #8 (effective May 29, 2021), PH order #9 (effective June 12, 2021), PH order #10 (effective June 26, 2021), PH order #11: (effective July 17, 2021). Content of Public Health Orders

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Figure 12. Percentage of Community-transmitted COVID-19 Cases Exposed to Top-five Acquisition Settings, Manitoba, January 24, 2021 – August 14, 2021

Note: COVID-19 public health orders in Manitoba since January 23, 2021: PH order #1 (effective January 23, 2021), PH order #2 (effective March 5, 2021), PH order #3 (effective March 26, 2021), PH order #4 (effective April 19, 2021), PH order #5 (effective April 28, 2021), PH order #6 (effective May 9, 2021), PH order #7 (effective May 22, 2021), PH order #8 (effective May 29, 2021), PH order #9 (effective June 12, 2021), PH order #10 (effective June 26, 2021), PH order #11: (effective July 17, 2021). Content of Public Health Orders

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Symptoms

Figure 13. Percentage of Symptoms Reported by COVID-19 Cases, Manitoba, March 13, 2020 – August 14, 2021

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

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FluWatchers

Figure 14. Weekly FluWatchers Participants and Percentage Reporting Fever and Cough, Manitoba, 2020 – 2021

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Physician Visits

Figure 15. Weekly Percentage of ILI Related Visits to Sentinel Physicians, Manitoba, 2021

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ED Visits

Figure 16. Weekly Respiratory Visits to Emergency Department, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, Manitoba, 2018 – 2021

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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