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 48 (November 22 – November 28)

About epidemiological week

Data extracted up to 4:00am on December 4, 2020
Next reporting date: December 14, 2020

Provincial Summary: High Activity In Week 48, there were 2,906 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in Manitoba, an increase from 2,549 in the previous week. The volume of lab tests decreased to on average 2,882 people tested for COVID-19 per day compared to 3,314 in the previous week, and the positivity rate of lab tests was 13.1%, a decrease from 13.6% 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 2,906 cases reported this week, majority (61%) were reported from Winnipeg Regional Health and 23% were reported from the Southern Health - Santé Sud Regional Health Authority. The remaining cases were reported from Northern Health Region (7%), 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: 2,906 Total cases: 16,485 Recovered cases: 8,444 More Analyses Epi curve Daily Case Counts (.csv) Age and sex Health region National update
Testing About testing This week Average daily specimens: 2,882 Weekly positivity rate: 13.1% Total Tested people: 272,130 Population tested: 19.9% Positivity rate: 4.9% More Analyses Provincial testing National testing	Severity About severity Severe outcomes associated with COVID-19: Hospitalizations: 1,064 ICU admissions: 208 Deaths: 353 More Analyses Severe Outcomes Age Underlying Illness	Outbreaks About outbreaks COVID-19 outbreaks: 116 Outbreaks in long-term care facilities: 73 Outbreaks in schools: 2 More Analyses Check trend Outbreak list
FluWatchers About FluWatchers Participants reporting: 574 Reporting fever and cough: 0.3% Check Trend	Physician Visits About sentinal physicians Influenza Like Illness (ILI) Visits to sentinel physicians: 0.6% Check Trend	ED Visits About emergency room visits Average daily respiratory visits to emergency department (ED): 92 Check Trend
Exposure About exposure Source of infection in cases (% of total) Travel: 1.8% Close contact to cases: 53.2% Unknown: 24.5% Pending: 20.6% Close contacts to cases Top contact type: Household exposure More Analyses Contacts	Risk Factors About risk factors Pregnant cases: 166 Health care workers**: 824 Recovered health care workers: 428 More Analyses Health care workers	Symptoms About symptoms Symptomatic cases: 77.6% Top symptoms (% of reports) Cough: 46.0% Headache: 39.7% Fever: 31.8% Muscle pain (myalgia): 30.2% Sore Throat: 28.1% 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

Back

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

Back

Table 1. Cases of COVID-19 by Health Region, Manitoba, 2020

Health Region	Cases	Percentage
Winnipeg RHA	10147	61.6%
Southern Health-Santé Sud	3236	19.6%
Interlake-Eastern RHA	1104	6.7%
Prairie Mountain Health	1024	6.2%
Northern Health Region	974	5.9%

Back

Testing

Figure 4. Average Daily Testing Volume and Positivity (%) for COVID-19 by Week of Specimen Receiving Date, Manitoba, 2020

Back

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	53,105	1,439,367	33.1%	3.7%
British Columbia	30,884	776,728	15.4%	4.0%
Manitoba	15,632	338,105	24.8%	4.6%
New Brunswick	477	97,995	12.7%	0.5%
Newfoundland and Labrador	331	61,457	11.8%	0.5%
Northwest Territories	15	6,302	14.0%	0.2%
Nova Scotia	1,266	136,653	14.1%	0.9%
Nunavut	159	4,064	10.5%	3.9%
Ontario	111,216	5,926,130	40.9%	1.9%
Prince Edward Island	70	57,943	37.2%	0.1%
Quebec	138,163	2,157,797	25.5%	6.4%
Saskatchewan	7,691	254,311	21.7%	3.0%
Yukon	42	5,113	12.6%	0.8%
Canada	359,064	11,262,041	30.1%	3.2%

Back

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

Back

Risk Factors

Table 3. Source of Infection in Health Care Workers, Manitoba, 2020

Source of infection	Cases	Percentage
Close contact of known case	502	60.9%
Pending	120	14.6%
Travel	11	1.3%
Unknown	191	23.2%
All Cases	824

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

Role	Cases
Allied Health and Support Staff	461
Nurse/Licensed Practical Nurse	233
Physician/Physician in training	29
First Responder	20

Back

Outbreaks

Figure 8. Weekly Respiratory and COVID-19 Outbreaks, Manitoba, 2017 – 2020

Back

FluWatchers

Figure 9. Weekly FluWatchers Participants and Percentage Reporting Fever and Cough, Manitoba, 2020

Back

Physician Visits

Figure 10. Weekly Percentage of ILI Related Visits to Sentinel Physicians, Manitoba, 2017 – 2020

Back

ED Visits

Figure 11. Weekly Respiratory Visits to Emergency Department, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, Manitoba, 2017 – 2020

Back

Contacts

Table 5. COVID-19 Contact Summary Table, Manitoba, 2020

Regional Health Authority	Active Cases	Median Contacts	Min contacts	Max contacts
Winnipeg Health	5899	3	0	105
Southern Health - Sante Sud	797	2	0	54
Interlake-Eastern Health	419	1	0	58
Northern Health	311	0	0	16
Prairie Mountain Health	262	3	0	48

Back

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.

Back

Epidemiology and Surveillance

epiCOVID@gov.mb.ca

Other Epidemiology and Surveillance reports

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