You are an idiot, right?
Southern Health continues to drive COVID-19 increases as Manitoba posts 342 cases over 3 days, 2 deaths
Southern Health has 15% of Manitoba's population but nearly half the latest cases, hospitalizations
Another two deaths and 342 new COVID-19 cases emerged in Manitoba over the past three days, and the region with the lowest vaccination rate continues to have a disproportionate share of the impacts the coronavirus is having in the province.
Since the last government update on Friday, the provincial test positivity jumped to 4.6 per cent from 3.9 per cent, and Winnipeg's rate climbed to 1.6 per cent
from 1.1 per cent.
Rates climbed and remain the highest in the Southern Health region, where test positivity surged to 14.2 per cent from 11.7 per cent on Friday, according to internal provincial data leaked to the CBC. The region has the lowest vaccination rate in Manitoba and a disproportionate number of the latest cases and hospitalizations.
Test positivity also rose in the Interlake-Eastern Health region, to 4.1 per cent from 1.5 per cent on Friday. Rates dropped in the Northern Health Region, to 7.9 per cent from 10.8 per cent on Friday, and in Prairie Mountain Health, to 4.1 per cent from 5.5 per cent.
The number of people in hospital due to COVID-19 rose to 98 on Monday from 85 on Friday, including 44 from Southern Health.
The number of Manitobans in intensive care units is at 90, including 25 COVID-19 patients, 12 of whom are from Southern Health. The pre-pandemic provincewide maximum capacity for ICU patients was 72.
Nearly half from south
Of the 342 cases reported in the past three days, 97 were identified on Saturday, 149 on Sunday and 96 on Monday.
Of the Monday cases, 45 are from Southern Health and 37 of those were in people who aren't fully vaccinated.
The region, which has just over 15 per cent of the provincial population, has the lowest vaccine uptake in Manitoba by a considerable margin: 68 per cent of eligible people in Southern Health are vaccinated. That's compared to just shy of 82 per cent in Prairie Mountain Health, the region with the next lowest rates,
according to the provincial vaccine dashboard.
The other cases reported Monday include 22 cases in the Winnipeg Health region, including 15 in people who were not fully vaccinated.
Those not vaccinated account for 63 per cent of active cases, 70 per cent of active hospitalizations and 85 per cent of active ICU patients.