Out of the new cases reported, the most cases in one district were found in the Cross Lake/Pimickamak district, where 22 new cases were reported Thursday. Another nine cases were found in the Island Lake district - likely tied to the ongoing community spread in Red Sucker Lake. Four new cases were found in the Thompson/Mystery Lake district. Not all the news on new cases is bad. Five northern districts, including the Flin Flon/Snow Lake/Cranberry Portage/Sherridon district, saw their active cases numbers drop. The Bunibonibee/Oxford House/Manto Sipi/Gods River/Gods Lake district saw the biggest drop, going to 171 active cases from 176 Wednesday. The Pas/OCN/Kelsey also saw a modest decline, with three more previously active cases now reported as recovered. Three other districts saw cases decline by one case each.
Manitoba health officials gave the province an early Christmas gift of sorts Dec. 21 - the lowest number of new COVID-19 cases in almost two months. The province reported 166 net new cases of COVID-19 on the shortest day of the year, including 25 cases within the Northern Health Region. Four deaths were reported Monday due to COVID-19, each from southern Manitoba communities. article continues below
Trending Stories Within the district of Flin Flon/Snow Lake/Cranberry Portage/Sherridon, only two cases of COVID-19 remain active. According to the most recent provincial health data, 32 people have had the disease and recovered, while one person who tested positive for COVID-19 has died.
There are now three communities in remote portions of Manitoba where spread of COVID-19 has hit drastic levels. Shamattawa remains the hardest hit of these regions, with active cases in the community’s health district hitting 275 according to provinicial data – over a quarter of the people in the town have either had COVID-19 or still have the disease. Twenty-one new cases were reported in the district Friday. The Canadian Armed Forces are still actively working in Shamattawa, helping first responders and health workers. Things aren’t looking much better in the Island Lake district, home to Red Sucker Lake, where cases are continuing to grow. The district passed the 200 active case mark Friday, sitting now at 203 active cases of the disease in the district. Armed Forces crews arrived in the community Thursday to help stop the spread. The district reported 13 new cases Friday.
The regions with the highest amount of growth were the Bunibonibee/Oxford House/Manto Sipi/Gods River/Gods Lake and the Island Lake district. In the Bunibonibee district, 23 more active cases were reported Thursday, bringing the district up to 102 active cases. Island Lake - where most cases are tied to the community of Red Sucker Lake - now has 193 active cases and counting, reporting 20 new cases and a net increase of 14 cases. The district with the most cases continues to be the Shamattawa/York Factory/Tataskweyak/Split Lake district, where cases are staying in the mid-200s. The district now has 256 active cases, most of which are centred around Shamattawa First Nation. Members of the Canadian Armed Forces, including medical staff, have been working in the community.
The Reminder has reached out to the Northern Health Region (NHR) for more information on what the end of the outbreak will mean for the facility, but is yet to receive comment. Three outbreaks remain active in the north, according to the provincial government, including one in Flin Flon at the Northern Lights Manor. At least one staff member and two residents at the manor have tested positive for COVID-19 since the outbreak was first announced. The two other outbreaks are both in The Pas/OCN/Kelsey district - the Rod McGillivary Care Home at Opaskwayak Cree Nation and the acute care inpatient unit at St. Anthony s Hospital in The Pas.