WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government is reporting 34 new COVID-19 cases, with 19 of them in the southern health region.
Health officials say most of the new cases in the region are linked to a known cluster, but the province has not identified a specific community.
Another five new cases are in the Prairie Mountain health region, where the province has already announced new restrictions that will take effect Monday.
Public gatherings will be limited to 10 people, with some exceptions, and masks will be mandatory in indoor public places and at all gatherings.
The province is also warning of two potential public exposures — on Aug. 18, at a Canadian Tire store in Portage La Prairie, and on Aug. 19 at an Olive Garden restaurant in east Winnipeg.
Manitoba has now recorded 830 COVID-19 cases, with 265 currently active and 12 deaths.
The union that represents workers at the Maple Leaf Foods meat processing plant in Brandon says the number of workers who have tested positive has risen to 70.
The United Food and Commercial Workers union has called for production to be halted, and said Friday the company is instead requiring workers to put in overtime this weekend.
Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba's chief public health officer, has said there is no evidence the novel coronavirus is spreading inside the plant, and many of the cases there are connected to clusters elsewhere in Brandon and the wider region.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2020
