Shared Health is saddened to report that a Manitoba ICU patient who was cared for at an Ontario hospital since May 20 has died. The patient was a male in their 30s. We want to express our condolences to this individual’s family and loved ones for their loss.

Five additional COVID patients were transported out of province on June 1 for ongoing ICU care. These transports are necessary to help manage the ongoing surge in patient demand.

Four of the five patients went to Ontario hospitals in Windsor, Sault Ste. Marie, St. Thomas-Elgin and Markham. One patient was sent to hospital in Saskatchewan. At the request of our partners in Saskatchewan and to ensure the privacy of patients being transferred to facilities in that province, we will not indicate the specific receiving facility.

One patient was repatriated to a hospital in Manitoba on Tuesday following care in an Ontario ICU.

Numbers recap:

•             The number of critically ill COVID patients from Manitoba being treated out of province is 40. That includes 38 patients in Ontario and two in Saskatchewan.

•             The number of patients returned to Manitoba for ongoing hospital care following discharge from an out of province ICU is now at seven.

•             The number of critically ill COVID patients transported out of province since May 18 is now at 48. That includes 46 patients to Ontario and two to Saskatchewan.

Additional patients are tentatively scheduled for transport out of province today to hospitals in Ontario.

An agreement has been reached with Alberta Health Services to accept, as needed, up to 10 Manitoba ICU patients. We are grateful to our colleagues in Alberta for their support in the care of Manitoba patients, just as we are thankful for the assistance of Ontario, Saskatchewan and the Canadian Armed Forces.

We continue to be thankful to our provincial neighbours and the Canadian Armed Forces for their ongoing support in the care of Manitoba patients.

Eleven more COVID patients were admitted to ICU in a 24-hour period ending midday Tuesday, continuing a weeks-long trend that has placed stress on Manitoba’s critical care program. These admissions are in addition to non-COVID patients who require critical care.

For the month of May, 253 COVID patients were admitted to ICU, which is more than five times over totals for all of April. As a note, numbers referenced from the 24-hour period above will be included in June statistics.

As of midnight, 127 patients were in Manitoba ICUs, including 69 who have or are recovering from COVID-19. Sixteen of these 69 patients are under the age of 40.

The normal, pre-COVID baseline capacity for ICU was 72 patients.

Use Manitoba’s COVID-19 Screening Tool to help determine whether you need to be tested by clicking here: https://sharedhealthmb.ca/covid19/screening-tool. For a full list of testing sites visit: https://www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/testing/locations.html.