Southern Health has seen a significant increase in the number of people getting tested for COVID-19 here in Steinbach.

A spokesperson for Southern Health says last week 243 patients were tested at the drive-thru site in Steinbach which was up by 87 from the week before. With considerably longer lineups observed near the testing site in the past few days, there is reason to believe this week’s numbers will be even higher.

This increase in testing comes on the heels of a COVID-19 spike in Manitoba. Between June 30 and July 13, no new cases of the novel coronavirus were detected province-wide. However, since July 14, a total of 49 new positive or probable positive cases have been detected.