Manitoba had no COVID-19 patients in intensive care as of the morning of April 29 and only five people in hospital due to the virus.
One new case was reported Wednesday, bringing the provincial total to 273 cases since the first positive test March 12, 213 of which are listed as recovered.
There are 54 active cases and six people have died from the virus.
The number of positive tests in the Northern Regional Health Authority area remains at three.
Chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin and Manitoba’s chief nursing officer Lanette Siragusa released modelling projections prepared for Manitoba April 29, the same day that Premier Brian Pallister announced that some non-essential businesses will be able to reopen starting May 4.
The actual number of COVID-19 cases in the province as of April 24 was lower than the model had predicted and at the lower end of the range of possible projections.
The models also showed that Manitoba’s pandemic curve was considerably flatter than that of Canada as a whole and of other countries and provinces.
“Our trajectory took a much different turn,” said Roussin, who attributed Manitoba’s flatter curve to the speed at which preventative measures were instituted. Public health orders were issued within eight days of the first positive coronavirus case in Manitoba, compared to 49 days in B.C. and 52 in Ontario. “We’ve been able to keep a relatively flat curve over the last several weeks."
Manitoba has conducted more COVID-19 cases per million residents than New Brunswick, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, British Columbia and Nunavut and has one of the lowest rates of positive tests at 1.15 per cent. Only Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Northwest Territories have lower positive test rates. Six provinces have positive test rates above two per cent, including Quebec, whose rate of 12.78 per cent is the only rate in Canada in double digits.
“Under 1.5 per cent we feel is a very low positive test rate,” said Roussin. “We’ve averaged under two [new positive tests] per day in the last two weeks.”
There was also significant hospital capacity as of April 23, due to elective surgeries being cancelled. Siragusa said that there were 29 available critical care beds for adults in Manitoba hospitals as of last week and that there is room to expand by up to 100 critical care beds in the province if necessary.
Roussin said the opening up of some businesses next week doesn’t mean Manitobans should visit them if they aren’t feeling well.
“If you’re ill, you shouldn’t be working and you shouldn’t be going to get your hair cut,” he said.
