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 45 (November 1 – November 7)

About epidemiological week

Data extracted up to 4:00am on November 13, 2020
Next reporting date: November 23, 2020

Provincial Summary: High Activity In Week 45, there were 2,056 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in Manitoba, an increase from 1,785 in the previous week. The volume of lab tests increased to on average 3,942 people tested for COVID-19 per day compared to 3,122 in the previous week. The positivity rate of lab tests was 9.3%, an increase from 7% 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 2,056 cases reported this week, majority (63%) were reported from Winnipeg Regional Health and 19% were reported from the Southern Health - Santé Sud Regional Health Authority. The remaining cases were reported from Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority (7%), Northern Health Region (7%) 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: 2,056 Total cases: 8,195 Recovered cases: 3,691 More Analyses Epi curve Daily Case Counts (.csv) Age and sex Health region National update
Testing About testing This week Average daily specimens: 3,942 Weekly positivity rate: 9.3% Total Tested people: 232,762 Population tested: 17.1% Positivity rate: 3.1% More Analyses Provincial testing National testing	Severity About severity Severe outcomes associated with COVID-19: Hospitalizations: 481 ICU admissions: 105 Deaths: 130 More Analyses Severe Outcomes Age Underlying Illness	Outbreaks About outbreaks COVID-19 outbreaks: 75 Outbreaks in long-term care facilities: 45 Outbreaks in schools: 2 More Analyses Check trend Outbreak list
FluWatchers About FluWatchers Participants reporting: 604 Reporting fever and cough: 0.5% Check Trend	Physician Visits About sentinal physicians Influenza Like Illness (ILI) Visits to sentinel physicians: 0.5% Check Trend	ED Visits About emergency room visits Average daily respiratory visits to emergency department (ED): 91 Check Trend
Exposure About exposure Source of infection in cases (% of total) Travel: 3.1% Close contact to cases: 52.3% Unknown: 21.4% Pending: 23.2% Close contacts to cases Top contact type: Community contact More Analyses Contacts	Risk Factors About risk factors Pregnant cases: 83 Health care workers**: 403 Recovered health care workers: 185 More Analyses Health care workers	Symptoms About symptoms Symptomatic cases: 75.7% Top symptoms (% of reports) Cough: 46.4% Headache: 41.2% Fever: 32.0% Muscle pain (myalgia): 30.7% Sore Throat: 29.7% 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	5233	63.9%
Southern Health-Santé Sud	1241	15.1%
Interlake-Eastern RHA	653	8.0%
Prairie Mountain Health	712	8.7%
Northern Health Region	356	4.3%

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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	31,858	1,295,038	29.8%	2.5%
British Columbia	17,149	646,823	12.8%	2.7%
Manitoba	7,419	270,689	19.8%	2.7%
New Brunswick	350	86,558	11.2%	0.4%
Newfoundland and Labrador	294	54,197	10.4%	0.5%
Northwest Territories	10	5,656	12.6%	0.2%
Nova Scotia	1,121	116,497	12.1%	1.0%
Nunavut	1	3,139	8.1%	0.0%
Ontario	81,693	5,132,335	35.4%	1.6%
Prince Edward Island	66	50,066	32.2%	0.1%
Quebec	112,189	1,943,833	23.0%	5.8%
Saskatchewan	3,623	217,915	18.6%	1.7%
Yukon	23	4,164	10.3%	0.6%
Canada	255,809	9,826,986	26.3%	2.6%

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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	229	70.7%
Travel	11	3.4%
Unknown	84	25.9%
All Cases	324

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

Role	Cases
Allied Health and Support Staff	227
Nurse/Licensed Practical Nurse	120
Physician or Physician in Training	21

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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
Interlake-Eastern Health	25	6	0	44
Northern Health	13	6	0	63
Prairie Mountain Health	15	4	0	47
Southern Health - Sante Sud	34	3	0	10
Winnipeg Health	534	4	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