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:

• To understand COVID-19 within the respiratory context; and
• To present a detailed overview about COVID-19 cases and contacts.

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 38 (September 13 – September 19)

About epidemiological week

Data extracted up to 4:00am on September 25, 2020
Next reporting date: October 5, 2020

Provincial Summary: Increased Activity In Week 38, there were 156 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in Manitoba, an increase from 108 in the previous week. The volume of lab tests increased to an average of 1,584 people tested for COVID-19 compared to over 1,300 in the previous week. The positivity rate of lab tests was 2%, an increase from 1.4% 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 156 cases reported this week, majority (78%) were reported from Winnipeg Regional Health and 8% were reported from the Prairie Mountain Health Authority. Additionally, cases from Southern Health - Santé Sud Regional Health Authority accounted for 8%, and cases from Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority accounted for 6%. Note that approximately 60% of the cases this week were close contacts to known cases and 1 case was considered travel related. 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 reported respiratory outbreaks remains low for this time of year.		Cases About cases New cases: 156 Total cases: 1,589 Recovered cases: 1,254 More Analyses Epi curve Age and sex Health region National update
Testing About testing This week Average daily specimens: 1,584 Weekly positivity rate: 2% Total Tested people: 146,199 Population tested: 10.7% Positivity rate: 1.0% More Analyses Provincial testing National testing	Severity About severity Severe outcomes associated with COVID-19: Hospitalizations: 64 ICU admissions: 23 Deaths: 19 More Analyses Severe Outcomes Age Underlying Illness	Outbreaks About outbreaks COVID-19 outbreaks: 24 Outbreaks in long-term care facilities: 13 Outbreaks in schools: 1 More Analyses Check trend
FluWatchers About FluWatchers Participants reporting: 445 Reporting fever and cough: 0.2% Check Trend	Physician Visits About sentinal physicians Influenza Like Illness (ILI) Visits to sentinel physicians: 0.0% Check Trend	ED Visits About emergency room visits Average daily respiratory visits to emergency department (ED): 95 Check Trend
Exposure About exposure Source of infection in cases (% of total) Travel: 13.8% Close contact to cases: 63.4% Unknown: 17.8% Pending: 5.0% Close contacts to cases Top contact type: Household exposure Household contacts converting to cases: 11.2% More Analyses Contacts	Risk Factors About risk factors Pregnant cases: 21 Health care workers**: 97 Recovered health care workers: 80 More Analyses Health care workers	Symptoms About symptoms Symptomatic cases: 84.7% Top symptoms (% of reports) Cough: 52.6% Headache: 44.2% Fever: 35.9% Muscle pain (myalgia): 34.9% Sore Throat: 31.9% More Analyses All symptoms
Important Notes Data about COVID-19 cases and contacts are extracted from PHIMS. 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. *ICU admissions were also included in hospitalizations. **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	673	42.4%
Southern Health-Santé Sud	304	19.1%
Interlake-Eastern RHA	104	6.5%
Prairie Mountain Health	504	31.7%
Northern Health Region	4	0.3%

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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	16,381	909,443	20.9%	1.8%
British Columbia	7,842	374,964	7.4%	2.1%
Manitoba	1,540	157,071	11.5%	1.0%
New Brunswick	194	59,754	7.7%	0.3%
Newfoundland and Labrador	272	36,941	7.1%	0.7%
Northwest Territories	5	3,944	8.8%	0.1%
Nova Scotia	1,086	87,187	9.0%	1.2%
Nunavut	0	2,178	5.6%	0.0%
Ontario	46,077	3,356,079	23.2%	1.4%
Prince Edward Island	57	33,053	21.2%	0.2%
Quebec	66,653	1,326,132	15.7%	5.0%
Saskatchewan	1,776	139,931	11.9%	1.3%
Yukon	15	3,049	7.5%	0.5%
Canada	141,911	6,489,802	17.3%	2.2%

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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 with Non-missing Information, Manitoba, 2020

Source of infection	Cases	Percentage
Close contact of known case	59	62.8%
Travel	11	11.7%
Unknown	24	25.5%
All Cases	94

Table 4. Roles of Health Care Workers, Manitoba, 2020

Role	Cases
Health care aide	33
Nurse	27
Physician or physician in training	9
Social/Support Workers	7
Medical Clerk	5
Pharmacist	3
Combined Category*	13

Note. The Combined Category counts health care workers in a role with very few cases. These cases are grouped together to keep the identities of these individuals private.

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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

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ED Visits

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

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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
Interlake-Eastern Health	23	8	0	36
Northern Health	2	0	0	0
Prairie Mountain Health	33	4	0	25
Southern Health - Sante Sud	28	3	0	10
Winnipeg Health	401	2	0	53

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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