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The Province reports 16 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, 11 of which being in the Prairie Mountain Health region.  
 
Based on stats published, today’s new Prairie Mountain Health cases break down as:  
70-79: 1 female  
50-59: 1 male  
40-49: 3 male  
30-39: 4 male  
20-29: 1 female  
10-19: 1 male  
 
Via Dr. Roussin the case count connected to an ongoing cluster at a business in Brandon is said to now be at 22.  Overall the cluster in Brandon is said to be at 64 cases. Overall Prairie Mountain Health is showing as having 86 active cases. 
 
It was said that while many of today's new cases are linked to known clusters in Brandon, preliminary info suggests a small number of cases with unknown acquisition aka community transmission.  
 
Today’s provincial bulletin is at:  
https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/?archive=&item=49017

Clarification was asked for in questioning at the media briefing to work toward an understanding of how many total cases there are in Brandon. Over and above the 64 in the cluster in Brandon, Dr. Roussin was only able to say that there are "a few" that are not linked to the cluster.  In response to a later question, though not Brandon specific it was said that 11% of cases in Manitoba overall have been said to be community transmission. 
 
It was asked in questioning why there aren't more restrictions in place in Brandon specifically. Dr. Roussin answered that there are not because cases are still largely related to a cluster. There is some community-based transmission, though by messaging and the things that Manitobans have learned this is our opportunity to live with the virus and not shutdown. If there is benefit to a future targeted approach it would be considered.  
 
A question was asked about the significant lineups in Brandon for testing, which have extended many blocks today. Minister Friesen shared that Prairie Mountain Health leadership is to be extending hours of operation and bringing on more people to help at testing sites. Plans are in place to move to seven days per week. Also there will be a second testing site in the City at the Keystone Centre which could be in place as early as tomorrow. More details presumably forthcoming.

As of right around 2pm the lineup still stretches the full seven blocks down Princess with a car extending down 1st Street... for those scoring at home that's about 75 cars. People entering the line are being told to expect to wait about four hours based on current size. 

Massive thank you to everyone working the site and getting everything through.

Edited by Adam, 2020-08-10 14:22:18

Think people in Brandon are concerned about COVID-19? Here’s the line to the city’s only drive-through testing site at about 1:30 today. pic.twitter.com/I1jb4OkJIm

&mdash: Skylar Peters (@CJOBSkylar) August 10, 2020

Already 40 cars lined up at the #Bdnmb COVID-19 test site which doesn’t open until 8:45 am, the person at the front of line says he’s been waiting since 6:30 am. @globalwinnipeg @680CJOB pic.twitter.com/O4dXgCqT6X

&mdash: Abigail Turner (@turnerrAbigail) August 11, 2020

Brandon’s second COVID-19 testing site at the Keystone Centre getting ready to open later this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/Cp7hmEI8IO

&mdash: Abigail Turner (@turnerrAbigail) August 11, 2020

Went through the line for a test today.  
From when they opened it took about 3 hours to move about 4 blocks and the distance into and through the parkade itself. When leaving, the lineup was back to about 2nd St as of a little before noon.  
 
I see the Keystone site is opening up this afternoon which will hopefully help keep up with demand (Keystone has posted that it opens at 1pm today). They are setup on East side of the building East of the main ramp.  
 
Still Hoping to clarify with PMH what intent for hours is at the two sites. Most recent info is what’s in the press release above, but Town Centre still has a closing time of 3:15 posted on-site as you enter.  
 
At the test site, noted signage that's gone up saying “Don’t photo or record patients, residents, clients, staff, doctors or visitors without permission. “  
 
Also worth a reminder that they expect people to stay in vehicles in the lineup.  
Not long after I got there a lady got out of the vehicle behind me in the lineup and went into a business on the route for a few minutes and seemed to leave some kind of produce behind. Do imagine with the waits that folks are having to do their best to plan ahead as best as they can when it comes to bathroom needs if thats what it was... but every time a person who is symptomatic enough to require testing (or is a close contact to someone who is symptomatic) is going into a business its one more potential transmission point. 

The Province reports 4 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, 3 of which being in the Prairie Mountain Health region.    
   
Based on stats published, today’s new Prairie Mountain Health cases break down as:    
Age 30-39: 2 male  
Age 20-29: 1 female  
 
Prairie Mountain shows as having 86 active cases, 40 recoveries and 1 death since the beginning of the pandemic.  
 
They continue to say that “Of the total cases, many are linked to known clusters in Brandon or are close contacts of previously announced cases. There are a small number of cases of unknown acquisition in these areas. “  
 
Note that they have added August 3 and 4 as potential exposure dates at the Tim Hortons Middleton Ave location.  
 
Today’s full bulletin is at:  
https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/?archive=&item=49039

Recent release from PMH clarifying hours at the two test sites.....  note the slightly different hours from what was in the release yesterday. Official opening for Keystone is tomorrow with a soft opening of sort today in providing some overflow support for the Town Centre... 
 
* * * * * * * * *  
 
Brandon COVID-19 testing site & hours update  
 
Overwhelming demand for COVID-19 testing continues in the Brandon area.  
 
Starting tomorrow, Wednesday, August 12th, Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) will officially increase access to testing by expanding operational hours at Town Centre as well as opening a second temporary testing site.  
 
The Town Centre hours of operation will be:  
Monday to Thursday 8:45 am to 6:00 pm  
Friday & Saturday 8:45 am to 3:15 pm  
Sunday 8:45 am to 12:30 pm  
 
The second temporary testing site, opening tomorrow, will be located at the Keystone Centre grounds.  
 
Hours of operation at the Keystone Centre will be the same as the Town Centre hours:  
Monday to Thursday 8:45 am to 6:00 pm  
Friday & Saturday 8:45 am to 3:15 pm  
Sunday 8:45 am to 12:30 pm  
 
Clients may choose the site they prefer to go to (Town Centre or Keystone Centre), however they may be re-directed to the other site in order to help balance lineups and shorten wait times.  
 
PMH asks individuals who are not symptomatic or who have not been directed by Public Health or Occupational Health to be tested, to please refrain from coming to the Brandon test sites at this time.  
 
Anyone experiencing symptoms longer than 24 hours should be tested. All are reminded to bring their Manitoba Health Card (preferably), however if they do not have a Manitoba Health Card, another piece of identification will be accepted.  
 
Clients are asked to remain in their vehicles and not enter the building at either test site (Town Centre or Keystone Centre).  
 
Those who arrive for testing should be prepared for line-ups. We thank the public for their understanding and patience.  
 
* * * * * * *

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Please note that masks will be mandatory for visiting either of the Brandon library locations beginning on Monday, August 17th. We ask that you help us to stop the spread of covid-19 in our community. For those who are sick, isolating/quarantining, or do not feel comfortable wearing a mask, we are happy to provide Contactless Deliveries to your doorstep upon request. For more information, please email info@wmrl.ca

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The Province reports 16 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, 4 of which being in the Prairie Mountain Health region.  
 
Based on stats published, today’s new Prairie Mountain Health cases break down as:  
40-49: 2 male  
20-29: 1 female  
10-19: 1 female  
 
Prairie Mountain shows as having 86 active cases, 44 recoveries and 1 death since the beginning of the pandemic.  
 
On case origin, they're only saying that "the majority of Prairie Mountain Health cases are linked to previously announced cases in Brandon."  
Of note, it's a province-wide number but the positivity rate is down to 1.06 after being as high as 1.59 two days ago. 
 
Today’s full bulletin is at:  
https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/?archive=&item=49059

Province now has a "cases by district" tab on the stats page at https://manitoba.ca/covid19/updates/cases.html   

Brandon as of yesterday's data had 71 active cases and 20 recoveries for a total of 91 since the pandemic began. We knew the cluster was in the 60s and that there were some cases of community transfer, but will give a much better basis for understanding impact on Brandon itself going forward in terms of new cases and in terms of recoveries....

Would expect the usual daily update in data for today at the top of the hour...

The Province reports 25 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, 12 of which being in the Prairie Mountain Health region. New data by region from the Province shows 11 of those are in Brandon itself.  
 
Based on stats published, today’s new Prairie Mountain Health cases break down as:  
60-69: 1 male  
50-59: 1 male  
40-49: 2 female, 1 male  
30-39: 1 female  
20-29: 2 female, 2 male  
10-19: 1 male  
0-9: 1 male  
 
Prairie Mountain shows as having 93 active cases, 49 recoveries and 1 death since the beginning of the pandemic. Brandon itself is showing as being 80 of those active cases and 22 of those recoveries.  
 
On case origin, they're continuing to state that "the majority of Prairie Mountain Health cases continue to be linked to previously announced cases in Brandon"  
 
Dr. Roussin stated at today's media briefing that 67 cases are linked to the Brandon cluster, 26 linked to a business in Brandon and 23 of those 26 are directly linked to the Brandon cluster.  
 
The most recent test positivity rate was 1.19%.  
 
Today’s full bulletin is at:  
https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/?archive=&item=49064

Release below has details on the Province's protocols and practices for return to schools. I know that this is an important topic for a lot of folks, so a new thread might be justified to discuss...  
https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/?archive=&item=49065

Separate note, see below re stream the City is holding later this afternoon that will be of value to a lot of local folks:

We'll be providing another City of #BdnMb #COVID19 Community Update on our YouTube channel at 4pm TODAY. We're happy to have joining us two officials w/ @PrairieMtHealth to provide important info about current local cases & testing sites. Be sure to watch! https://t.co/ZIGy0m0oza

— City of Brandon (@CityBrandon) August 13, 2020

The Province reports 40 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, 25 of which being in the Prairie Mountain Health region. Data by region from the Province shows 17 more cases in Brandon itself compared to yesterday.    
   
Based on stats published, today’s new Prairie Mountain Health cases break down as:    
 
Age 60-69: 1 male  
Age 50-59: 3 male  
Age 40-49: 3 female, 3 male  
Age 30-39: 4 female, 5 male  
Age 20-29: 3 male  
Age 10-19: 1 female, 2 male  
   
Prairie Mountain shows as having 110 active cases, 57 recoveries and 1 death since the beginning of the pandemic. Brandon itself is showing as being 90 of those active cases and 29 of those recoveries.    
   
Dr. Roussin stated at today's media briefing that majority of Prairie Mountain Health are contacts turned cases. 39 cases are linked to a business in Brandon. The total cluster number is not available at this time due to ongoing investigation. There continues to be indication of early community spread in the Brandon area.  
   
The most recent test positivity rate in Manitoba was 1.25%.    
   
Today’s full bulletin is at:    
https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/?archive=&item=49078

BSD has released the plan for the 2020/21 school year:  
https://www.bsd.ca/News/covid19updates/Documents/Brandon%20School%20Division%202020%20Re-Opening%20Schools%20Plan%20.pdf

eBrandon discussion at:
https://ebrandon.ca/messagethread.aspx?message_id=1058724&cat_id=3

Updated: August 15. Added discussion link. 

The Province has reported 36 new COVID-19 cases in Manitoba on Sunday, nine of which being in the Prairie Mountain Health region. Data by region from the Province shows a number of Brandon cases five higher than yesterday.  
   
Some inconsistencies in the data today re comparing age breakdown to yesterday. These are the differences shown by age group, I assume complicated by some of the changes in cases noted in the release at the link below:  
 
Age 50-59: 2 addition males  
Age 40-49: 1 addition males  
Age 30-39: 2 addition males  
Age 10-19: 1 less male  
Age 0-9: 1 addition female, 1 addition male  

Prairie Mountain shows as having 83 active cases, 95 recoveries and 1 death since the beginning of the pandemic. That’s a notable drop in 29 active cases. Brandon itself is showing as being 66 of those active cases and 61 of those recoveries.  That’s a reduction of 26 active cases in Brandon from yesterday’s numbers.  
 
The most recent 5-day test positivity rate in Manitoba is reported to be 1.47%.    
   
Today’s full bulletin is at:    
https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/?archive=&item=49081

The Province reports 38 new COVID-19 cases in Manitoba on Monday, 20 of which are reported as in the Prairie Mountain Health region.

On the stats dashboard Prairie Mountain shows as having 103 active cases, 98 recoveries and 1 death since the beginning of the pandemic. Brandon itself is showing as being 86 of those active cases and 64 of those recoveries. That Brandon number compares to 66 active and 61 recovered shown in data yesterday. When you do the math the Brandon number is actually 23 higher than yesterday. I didnt hear anything that spoke to descrepency, but yesterday's age breakdown data was lower than the reported number of cases and so I will assume that today is catching up for that:

Provincial data shows the following differences in age breakdown from yesterday as far as Prairie Mountain. Note that this this adds up to 24, which exceeds the 20 Prairie Mountain cases reported today. See note above re descrepency. 

Age 50-59: 1 male  
Age 40-49: 2 male  
Age 30-39: 5 female, 5 male  
Age 20-29: 1 female, 1 male  
Age 10-19: 3 female, 1 male  
Age 0-9: 3 female, 2 male     
 
They are saying that the majority of the new cases in Prairie Mountain and Southern Health are linked to known clusters with investigation ongoing.  
 
Dr. Roussin stated at the media conference that the Brandon cluster sits at 64 cases. 
Roussin further stated that there are 56 cases connected to a place of business in Brandon without evidence seen of workplace transmission. There are 24 cases that are both connected to the Brandon cluster and the place of business.  They did not state the number of cases in Brandon that are believed to be community transmission.  

Please note potential exposure at the Victoria Ave West 7/11 location from Aug 5-7 from 7am-3pm as per https://manitoba.ca/covid19/updates/flights.html
 
The most recent 5-day test positivity rate in Manitoba is reported to be 1.79%.    
   
Today’s full bulletin is at:    
https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/?archive=&item=49084

A little wider context for Brandon...  
 
Since they started disclosing the Brandon case numbers on Thursday our total case count for Brandon is 59 higher. The active case count is 15 higher after factoring in recoveries. How many of those 59 are cluster vs travel vs community transmission is not reported and I have not heard asked.