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 39 (September 20 – September 26)

About epidemiological week

Data extracted up to 4:00am on October 2, 2020
Next reporting date: October 12, 2020

Provincial Summary: Increased Activity In Week 39, there were 295 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in Manitoba, an increase from 156 in the previous week. The volume of lab tests increased to on average 1,946 people tested for COVID-19 per day compared to less than 1,600 in the previous week. The positivity rate of lab tests was 2.2%, an increase from 2% 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 295 cases reported this week, majority (80%) were reported from Winnipeg Regional Health and 8% were reported from the Southern Health - Santé Sud Regional Health Authority. Additionally, cases from Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority accounted for 7% and cases from Prairie Mountain Health Authority accounted for 3%. Note that almost 50% of the cases this week were close contacts to known cases and 2 cases were 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: 295 Total cases: 1,887 Recovered cases: 1,378 More Analyses Epi curve Age and sex Health region National update
Testing About testing This week Average daily specimens: 1,946 Weekly positivity rate: 2.2% Total Tested people: 156,752 Population tested: 11.5% Positivity rate: 1.1% More Analyses Provincial testing National testing	Severity About severity Severe outcomes associated with COVID-19: Hospitalizations: 108 ICU admissions: 35 Deaths: 20 More Analyses Severe Outcomes Age Underlying Illness	Outbreaks About outbreaks COVID-19 outbreaks: 25 Outbreaks in long-term care facilities: 14 Outbreaks in schools: 1 More Analyses Check trend
FluWatchers About FluWatchers Participants reporting: 468 Reporting fever and cough: 0% Check Trend	Physician Visits About sentinal physicians Influenza Like Illness (ILI) Visits to sentinel physicians: 0.7% Check Trend	ED Visits About emergency room visits Average daily respiratory visits to emergency department (ED): 108 Check Trend
Exposure About exposure Source of infection in cases (% of total) Travel: 11.8% Close contact to cases: 62.4% Unknown: 17.8% Pending: 8.1% 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: 23 Health care workers**: 109 Recovered health care workers: 86 More Analyses Health care workers	Symptoms About symptoms Symptomatic cases: 82.1% Top symptoms (% of reports) Cough: 50.9% Headache: 43.4% Fever: 35.1% Muscle pain (myalgia): 32.9% Sore Throat: 31.4% 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	910	48.2%
Southern Health-Santé Sud	327	17.3%
Interlake-Eastern RHA	126	6.7%
Prairie Mountain Health	516	27.3%
Northern Health Region	8	0.4%

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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	17,343	968,031	22.2%	1.8%
British Columbia	8,641	407,044	8.1%	2.1%
Manitoba	1,764	168,637	12.4%	1.0%
New Brunswick	200	63,507	8.2%	0.3%
Newfoundland and Labrador	272	40,103	7.7%	0.7%
Northwest Territories	5	4,404	9.8%	0.1%
Nova Scotia	1,087	91,878	9.5%	1.2%
Nunavut	0	2,330	6.0%	0.0%
Ontario	48,905	3,600,754	24.9%	1.4%
Prince Edward Island	58	35,813	23.0%	0.2%
Quebec	70,307	1,442,772	17.1%	4.9%
Saskatchewan	1,846	150,613	12.9%	1.2%
Yukon	15	3,280	8.1%	0.5%
Canada	150,456	6,979,242	18.7%	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	68	63.6%
Travel	11	10.3%
Unknown	28	26.2%
All Cases	107

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

Role	Cases
Health Care Aide	36
Nurse	28
Physician or physician in training	9
Social/Support Workers	7
Medical Clerk	5
Pharmacist	3
Combined Category*	21

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, 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	0	0	10
Prairie Mountain Health	15	4	0	47
Southern Health - Sante Sud	34	3	0	10
Winnipeg Health	534	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

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