COVID-19 and flu activity dropped in Manitoba during the first week of January, according to the province’s latest respiratory virus surveillance report.
COVID-related hospital admissions for the week of Jan. 1 to 7 fell by 12 from the week before — down to 38 from 50, according to the report released Friday.
There were seven COVID-related intensive care unit admissions in the last reporting week, compared with 12 for the week of December 25 to 31.
The rate of positive tests for COVID-19 fell from 11.1 to 10.3 percent in the first week of January.
The total number of deaths linked to COVID-19 rose by 25 in the latest report, down from a jump of 38 in the previous week’s report. Because of the holidays, however, the increase in the latest report reflects a two-week period.
The wastewater monitoring data also suggested lower levels of COVID-19 activity in Winnipeg and Brandon, the report said.
Influenza-related admissions decline
Influenza-related hospital admissions also fell by 40 percent in the first week of January from the previous week – falling to 12 out of 20.
There were no flu-related intensive care unit admissions for the last reporting week. The total number of flu-related deaths reported this season rose by four to 54. A week earlier, flu-related deaths rose by 13.
Influenza A continues to be the predominant circulating strain. The province’s positive test rate fell from six per cent to 2.8 per cent from the previous week, which was also lower than the national average (also six per cent).
Flu season has started earlier than usual, but cases are already at “expected levels” for this time of year, according to the report.
The number of weekly respiratory visits to emergency and emergency departments also fell from the previous week, the report said, falling from 1,855 visits to 1,759.
The next monitoring report is scheduled to be released on January 20.
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