Elevated COVID-19 cases in one community are resulting in the town's schools going remote.

All Morden schools are going online for kindergarten to Grade 12 students. This will start on Monday and last two weeks, until June 21.

"Public health will review the situation at that time. The change has been recommended as COVID-19 case counts are elevated in the community," the province says in a statement Thursday.

Morden has 34 active COVID-19 cases. Its neighbour, Winkler, has 70.

The Western School Division, which these schools are part of, ends its official school year on June 30.

As of Thursday morning, there are 360 new COVID-19 cases in the province including:

  • 220 cases in the Winnipeg health region
  • 56 cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region
  • 42 cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region
  • 23 cases in the Northern health region
  • 19 cases in the Interlake-Eastern health region

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 11.5 per cent provincially and 13.2 per cent in Winnipeg. After a data correction, there are 51,935 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in total, with 4,179 active cases and 46,689 recoveries.

Public health officials advise five new deaths in people with COVID-19 have been reported Thursday:

  • a female in her 40s from the Winnipeg health region;
  • a male in his 70s from the Northern health region;
  • a female in her 70s from the Winnipeg health region; 
  • a male in his 80s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region, linked to the unspecified variant of concern; and
  • a female in her 90s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the B.1.1.7 variant of concern.

The total number of deaths in people with COVID-19 is 1,067.

In the hospital there are:

  • 212 people in hospital with active COVID-19 as well as 85 people in hospital with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 297 hospitalizations; 
  • 45 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as 23 people with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care, for a total of 68 ICU patients

Shared Health says three COVID patients were transported out of province on Wednesday, going to Owen Sound, North Bay and Sarnia hospitals. Three others returned on Wednesday.

"We continue to be grateful to the provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta, as well as the Canadian Armed Forces, for their ongoing support in the care of Manitoba patients.," they say in a Thursday statement.

A second patient, a woman in her 50s, died in Ontario, which is not included in today's COVID-19 deaths.

"Shared Health is saddened to report that a Manitoba ICU patient who was cared for outside the province has died.... our condolences go out to this individual’s family and loved ones for their loss."

In total, there are 37 Manitoban patients in Ontario and two in Saskatchewan. Manitobans will be going to Alberta next, as soon as Thursday if needed.

Out of the 51 sent out of province, 10 have returned, including the 49 patients to Ontario and two to Saskatchewan.

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