'Omicron is here, rapidly spreading': Manitoba sets all-time daily COVID-19 record with close to 750 new cases
CBC
An all-time daily record of nearly 750 new COVID-19 cases will be reported in Manitoba on Friday, Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin says.
The full data on numbers will be released at 12:30 p.m. but as he predicted in mid-December, Roussin said Omicron is sweeping through the province.
The high numbers will further increase demands on the testing system and the related wait times for tests and results, he said, noting the current testing backlog is now 10,000 samples.
Because of that backlog, the Friday caseload is actually an underestimate, Roussin said.
"We have to expect this will put significant strain on our health-care system if we continue these case numbers at this rate," he said.
"Given that we're still learning about Omicron, we cannot rely on some of the reports of Omicron being less severe."
People must do what they can to address the rising numbers "so it is imperative that Manitobans adjust their holiday plans yet again," Roussin said.
Anyone planning multiple gatherings is being urged to cut that back to one. Though current health orders allow for up to 10 vaccinated visitors inside a home, not counting the people that live there Roussin is pleading with people to scale that back.
"We need to adjust our plans on the go here because we're seeing rapid transmission of Omicron throughout the province," he said.
Anyone with a higher risk of severe outcomes from the virus — those over 60 and anyone with underlying medical conditions — "should not be attending gatherings this weekend," he said.
"[It's] not what anyone wanted to hear during yet another holiday season but it is what we have to deal with. Omicron is here, rapidly spreading."
This past week, the daily case numbers have climbed from 200 on Monday to 302 on Tuesday, 400 on Wednesday and then 556 on Thursday.
That has resulted in long lines at test sites, prolonged waits for results and likely discouraged some people from even going. All of that makes it harder to get an exact picture of the true case counts.
To help alleviate some of the test waits, Roussin is asking that only high-risk people experiencing COVID-19 symptoms go to a testing site.
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