COVID-19 UPDATE FOR APRIL 5: MORE THAN 220,000 VACCINES ADMINISTERED, 219 NEW CASES, 212 RECOVERIES, ONE NEW DEATH
Vaccines Reported
An additional 7,241 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 221,533.
The 7,241 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered in the following regions: Far North West (15), Far North East (55), North West (638), North Central (766), North East (67), Saskatoon (1,507), Central West (60), Central East (386), Regina (2,122), South West (268), South Central (705) and South East (504). There were 148 doses administered with zone of residence pending.
The Ministry of Health has launched a new dashboard with details on vaccine administration in the province, including first and second doses administered by age range.
Note that vaccination data provided April 5 is for vaccinations administered on Saturday, April 3. A 48-hour reporting lag is required for vaccination reporting, to ensure the reporting systems are compiling correct data.
The COVID-19 vaccine appointment booking system currently includes residents 58 years of age and older. Eligible residents are encouraged to book their COVID-19 vaccinations online or by phone. Additional information on how to book your appointment is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-booking. For information on drive-thru clinics, see https://www.saskhealthauthority.ca/news/service-alerts-emergency-events/Pages/COVID-19-Vaccine-Drive-Thru-Wait-Times.aspx.
Daily COVID-19 Statistics
There are 219 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on April 5, bringing the provincial total to 34,763 cases. The COVID-19 Dashboard is available here.
One Saskatchewan resident who tested positive for COVID-19 has died. The death was reported in the 60-69 age group in the Saskatoon zone.
The new cases are located in the Far North West (3), North West (8), North Central (4), North East (4), Saskatoon (44), Central West (1), Central East (12), Regina (110), South West (1), South Central (20), and South East (10) zones. Two (2) new cases have pending residence information. There are a total of 32,121 recoveries and 2,202 cases are considered active.
One hundred ninety-five (195) people are in hospital. One hundred and forty-eight (148) people are receiving inpatient care: Far North East (1), North West (8), North Central (2), Saskatoon (47), Central East (11), Regina (67), South Central (2) and South East (10). Forty-seven (47) people are in intensive care: North Central (3), Saskatoon (8), Central East (2), Regina (31) and South Central (3).
The seven-day average of daily new cases is 218 (17.8 new cases per 100,000). A chart comparing today’s average to data collected over the past several months is available on the Government of Saskatchewan website at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness/covid-19/seven-day-average-of-new-covid-cases.
There were 3,330 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on April 4, 2021.
To date, 684,404 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of April 2, 2021, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 570,680 tests performed per million population. The national rate was 729,540 tests performed per million population.
Please note: Variants of concern (VOC) are beginning to rise across southern Saskatchewan, particularly in the Moose Jaw and Weyburn areas. Residents in these areas are urged to adhere to best personal protective measures:
- Wear your mask in all public places including all workplaces
- Wash non-medical masks daily
- Maintain physical distancing
- Wash your hands frequently
- Reduce activities outside of your home. Order take-out or curbside pick-up. If you are able to work from home, work from home at this time.
- Avoid all unnecessary travel to and from Moose Jaw and Weyburn.
All Saskatchewan residents should monitor active cases in their area and adjust their activity accordingly. Active and new case information for each area can be found at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness
If you have any symptoms, stay home and arrange for a COVID-19 test. If anyone in your home has symptoms, the entire household should remain home until the test results are known. Testing information is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/testing-information.
As of April 4, 2,453 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the Far North East (4) North West (3), North Central (18), Saskatoon (151), Central West (12), Central East (41), Regina (1,756), South West (10), South Central (204) and South East (195) zones. There are 59 cases with area of residence pending.
These were previously reported as “presumptive positives” but all screening tests will be considered confirmed VOCs for the purposes of public reporting and contact investigations.
There are zero (0) new lineage results being reported today. Of the 951 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 943 are B1.1.1.7 (UK) and eight are B1.351 (SA). The Regina zone accounts for 803 (84 per cent) of the VOC cases with confirmed lineage reported in Saskatchewan.
Please note that these VOC may have been initially identified via means other than screening (i.e. selection for whole genome sequencing without screening) and that whole genome sequencing results to identify lineage are included in the screening results.
Confirmed variant of concern cases may appear in both columns on the website, depending on testing for that case. Adding the cases identified by screening and those that have received whole genome sequencing may result in double-counting individual cases.
Further statistics on the total number of cases among healthcare workers, breakdowns of total cases by source of infection, age, sex and region, total tests to date, per capita testing rate and current numbers of confirmed variants of concern can be found at
http://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-cases.
Public Health Measures
The provincial public health orders announced Tuesday, March 9 and the Regina and area revisions announced Tuesday, March 24 are in effect until April 12, 2021 and will be reviewed at that time.
Due to increased COVID-19 transmission risk in Regina and area, revisions made March 24 include: restricting private indoor gatherings to immediate household members only; all restaurants and licensed establishments must close for in-person dining; and most event venues supporting 30 persons or less are not permitted to operate.
Travel is also not recommended in or out of the Regina area unless absolutely necessary. It is strongly recommended that all individuals in the Regina area able to work from home do so.
Full details on current public health measures can be found at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-measures.
Enforcing Public Health Measures
Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) Public Health Inspectors and police agencies enforce public health orders issued under the authority of The Public Health Act, 1994. Public health inspectors and police agencies have the support of the Saskatchewan government to ticket violators to ensure that businesses and events are brought into compliance as quickly as possible throughout the province.
For the week of March 22, SHA public health inspectors issued an individual ticket for $2,800 for failure to comply with a public health order. In addition, the Milden Hotel and Bar was fined $14,000 for failure to comply with the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan. Note that under The Health Information Protection Act, the Ministry of Health cannot disclose the names of individuals who have received fines.
For more information on the current public health measures or to see the Public Health Order, visit www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-measures.
General COVID-19 Information
General public inquiries may be directed to COVID19@health.gov.sk.ca.
Know your risk. Keep yourself and others safe. www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/about-covid-19/know-your-risk.
(Photo courtesy: Saskatchewan Government/Saskatchewan Government News Release)