365 new cases of COVID-19, 11 deaths in Manitoba on Sunday

There are 365new cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba and 11more people have died from the illness, the province says in a news release.

There are now a record 336 people in hospital with COVID-19, up from 327 on Saturday. Of those, 44 are in intensive care, the release says.

The latest deaths bring Manitoba's coronavirus-linked fatalities to 301, the release says.

The deaths announced Sunday include nine linked to known outbreaks across the province. Three of the people who died are linked to Holy Family Home in Winnipeg: two men (in their 70s and 80s) and a woman in her 90s.

Other deaths announced Sunday linked to outbreaks in the Winnipeg health region are a woman in her 80s linked to Fred Douglas Lodge, a woman in her 80s linked to Park Manor Care and a woman in her 90s linked to Charleswood Care Centre, the release says.

Outside of Winnipeg, the most recently announced deaths linked to outbreaks are a woman in her 90s linked to Rest Haven Nursing Home in Steinbach, a woman in her 80s linked to Villa Youville Personal Care Home in Ste. Anne and a woman in her 80s linked to Menno Home in Grunthal.

The remaining deaths announced Sunday are a man in his 60s from the Winnipeg health region and a woman in her 80s from the Northern health region, the release says.

The update comes a day after Manitoba reported the death of a boy under the age of 10 from COVID-19, the province's youngest tosuccumb to the disease. On Monday, a provincial spokesperson confirmed the boy had underlying medical conditions.

The province has declared a COVID-19 outbreak in the acute care inpatient unit atThe Pas Health Complex, St. Anthony's General Hospital. The site has been moved to the critical red level on the pandemic response system, the release says.

Manitoba's rolling five-day test positivity rate, an average of the COVID-19 tests that come back positive, is down again to 13.3 per cent, the release says. In Winnipeg, that rate is now 13.5 per cent.

A previously announced COVID-19 case was removed from Manitoba's case totals on Saturday, the release says, after an investigation showed it was not a case of the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

Two-thirds of Sunday's cases are in Winnipeg

There have now been 16,483 cases of COVID-19 identified in Manitoba, the release says, including 7,010 who have recovered. Another 9,172 are still considered active, though Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin haspreviously said this number is inflated because of a data entry backlog.

Two-thirds of the cases announced Sunday (241) are in the Winnipeg health region, the release says, while just under one-fifth (71) are in the Southern Health region. Another 27 are in the Northern health region, with17 in the Interlake-Eastern health region and nine in the Prairie Mountain Health region.

Meanwhile, people who tried to attend a drive-thru service at a church near Steinbachon Sunday morning were blocked by police.

Church of God minister Tobias Tissen said as far as he knows, no one was fined for breaking public health orders that cap gatherings at five people and order religious services to move strictly online.

Springs Church in Winnipeg also held drive-in services this weekend, though the province said there won't be an update on whether anyone was fined until Tuesday.

Manitoba's latest isolation centre for people experiencing homelessness is opening in stages starting this weekend, the province said in a news release earlier Sunday morning. The 138-room site brings the total number of isolation centres in Winnipeg to five, that release said.

Sites where there were possible COVID-19 exposures are listed by region on the province's website.

There were 3,158 more COVID-19 tests done in Manitoba on Saturday, the release says, bringing the total completed in the province since early February to 352,437.