Public health officials announced 40 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases to 1,993.

Manitoba has 599 active cases, with 1,374 people recovered and 20 deaths due to COVID-19.

There are currently 13 people in hospital, with seven in intensive care.

Today’s cases are broken down by location as such:

•    two cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region; 
•    two cases in the Interlake–Eastern health region;
•    one case in the Northern health region;
•    four cases in Southern Health–Santé Sud; and
•    31 cases in the Winnipeg health region.

None of Wednesday cases are in the Dauphin health district, where all 7 cases are listed as recovered.

The chief provincial public health officer strongly encourages Manitobans to reduce the number of close contacts outside their household, and avoid closed-in or crowded spaces. In addition, they recommend Manitobans focus on these fundamentals to help stop the spread of COVID-19:

•    Stay home if you are sick. 
•    Wash/sanitize your hands and cover your cough. 
•    Physically distance when you are with people outside your household.
•    If you cannot physically distance, wear a mask to help reduce the risk to others or as required by public health orders. 

Public health officials say they only want individuals experiencing COVID-19 symptoms to go for testing.

For more of the latest information on COVID-19 in Manitoba, click here.