Man in his 20s, youngest to die of COVID-19 in Manitoba

WINNIPEG – A man in his 20s is the youngest to die from COVID-19 in Manitoba to date, with the province’s death toll surpassing 200. On Friday, Dr Brent Roussin, the province’s chief public health officer, said the man was from the Winnipeg health region and suffered from underlying health issues. For reasons of confidentiality, public health does not disclose these conditions.

No further details of his death have been released. He is the youngest to die from the virus in the province.

“All of these announcements are more than numbers – they’re people. He’s a young man, ”Roussin said. “It’s tragic to see all these lists every day now. ”

Over the past month, public health has reported deaths every day. During that time, 164 Manitobans died from COVID-19.

“We have to maintain our goal that it’s not just numbers – it’s people,” Roussin said.

He reported the deaths of eight other people on Friday, including:

• A woman in her 50s from the Northern Health Region;

• A woman in her 60s from Winnipeg Health Region linked to the Keekinan Center outbreak;

• A woman in her 60s from Interlake East Health Region;

• A man in his 60s from Southern Health – Santé Sud;

• An 80-year-old woman from the Winnipeg Health Region;

• Man in his 80s and 100s from Winnipeg Health Region linked to the St. Norbert Personal Care Home outbreak; and

• A man in his 80s from the Prairie Mountain Health area and linked to the Gilbert Plains Personal Care Home outbreak.

A total of 207 Manitobans have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic first hit the province in March.

Friday also saw 438 new cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba, although one case was dropped due to an error. These new cases bring the total number of COVID-19 cases in Manitoba to 12,919. The current five-day test positivity rate in Manitoba is now 13.7%

The majority of the new cases were in Winnipeg, which reported 247 cases with a five-day test positivity rate of 13.7.

Although Roussin said another area of ​​the province is seeing an increase in cases. The Southern Health Region has reported 114 new cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba – the region’s hotspot is the town of Steinbach.

READ MORE: ‘We have to end this’: COVID-19 cases soar in Steinbach and other parts of southern Manitoba

Other cases reported on Friday include:

• 22 cases in Interlake East health region;

• 28 cases in the northern health region; and

• 27 cases in Prairie Mountain Health Region.

The province said there are now 281 people hospitalized with COVID-19 across Manitoba, including 43 people in intensive care. The number of active cases in Manitoba is estimated to be 7,861 cases.

The province also reported that 196 more people have recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries to 4,851.

This is a developing story. More soon.