VIRUS CASES SOAR IN MANITOBA.
Tougher restrictions are coming to Winnipeg as Manitoba's COVID-19 caseload ticks upward, while Ontario's premier is urging gym enthusiasts in hard-hit regions not to venture elsewhere to work out.
Manitoba reported a record-high 173 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday and has a per-capita active case count second only to Quebec. It marked the third day in a row that Manitoba had a record number of positive tests.
The percentage of people testing positive has also jumped sharply in recent days to 4.9 per cent provincewide and 5.8 per cent in Winnipeg. Canada's national positivity rate is 2.1.
Manitoba chief medical officer Dr. Brent Roussin said he is looking at imposing widespread capacity limits in public places across many sectors as early as Friday. “We have multiple examples of people just not following the fundamentals and not following the rules,” he said.
Ontario r eported 783 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday along with five additional deaths.
On Saturday, the province imposed new restrictions in three hot spots: Ottawa, Toronto and Peel Region, west of Toronto.
Quebec is reporting 969 new COVID-19 cases and eight more deaths in the past 24 hours. Health officials in the province reported another 22 deaths that they say occurred at earlier dates.
Tightened restrictions imposed earlier this month in the greater Montreal and Quebec City areas, as well as the Chaudiere-Appalaches region south of the provincial capital, are to last until at least Oct. 28.But Premier Francois Legault said it's “likely” some will last longer in those regions.
In Ottawa, Indigenous Ser vi ces Minister Marc Miller said t he government knows of 209 active COVID-19 cases in Indigenous communities, the highest figure to date. Miller said that number is “alarming.”
“Every active case that starts spreading in a community requires a huge mobilization that (it) wouldn't necessarily in an urban centre,” he said. “So there is a very real and present logistical challenge.”
Heading into winter, 144 mobile structures have been procured for areas where overcrowding is a concern.