Manitoba premier gives COVID-19 vaccine incentive update

Manitoba’s premier is expected to give an update on COVID-19 vaccine incentives Wednesday.

Brian Pallister has scheduled a press conference for 11 a.m. Global News will stream the event live in this story.

At last word Tuesday, 75.1 per cent of eligible Manitobans 12 and up have received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 51.5 per cent of the eligible population have received two shots.

Under Manitoba’s reopening plans announced last month, officials have said a second round of restriction loosening could start if the province hits 75 per cent first dose vaccination and 50 per cent second dose rates by the August long weekend, provided daily case numbers and hospitalization rates are low enough.

Pallister has said the loosening could come before the August long weekend if the targets were hit early.

On Monday, as vaccination rates neared the milestone, chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said while it was too soon to announce a further loosen public health orders, the province is “trending towards a post-pandemic.”

There was no word from Pallister’s office about exactly what he plans to announce Wednesday.

Manitoba’s daily case numbers have been dropping in recent weeks, and hospitalization numbers have also fallen.

On Tuesday officials announced 36 new cases, the lowest one-day increase in new cases Manitoba has seen since early March.

But the more-contagious Delta strain, first identified in India continues to spread, and last week officials said the strain has now been found in all five health regions.

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COVID-19: Delta variant found in all Manitoba health regions, faster testing for strain coming

According to a provincial online database keeping track of variants, Manitoba had seen 381 cases of the Delta strain as of Tuesday, up from the 275 reported when the site was last updated Saturday.

At least 29 Delta strain cases remain active in Manitoba, according to the site.

Officials said there were 155 Manitobans hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday. Of those in hospital as a result of the virus, 42 were in ICU, including six receiving critical care in Ontario.

At last word the five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 5.9 per cent provincially and 5.7 per cent in Winnipeg.

Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.

To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus. In some provinces and municipalities across the country, masks or face coverings are now mandatory in indoor public spaces.

For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, visit our coronavirus page.