Sask. COVID-19 Update: 358 New Cases, 160 Recoveries, 6 Deaths

COVID-19 UPDATE FOR APRIL 8: NEW RECORD 11,000+ VACCINATIONS IN ONE DAY, 256,280 VACCINES ADMINISTERED, 358 NEW CASES, 160 RECOVERIES, SIX NEW DEATHS

Vaccines Reported

An additional 11,634 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 256,280. This is the highest daily doses administered to date.

The 11,634 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered to residents living in the following regions: Far North West (370), Far North Central (1), Far North East (171), North West (835), North Central (987), North East (977), Saskatoon (3,328), Central West (244), Central East (782), Regina (1,716), South West (464), South Central (685) and South East (783).  There were 291 doses administered with zone of residence pending.

Forty-five per cent of Saskatchewan residents age 50+ have received their first dose:

All vaccine administration details for the province, including first and second doses, can be found on the dashboard at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness.  As the source database for vaccine information, Panorama is subject to continuous data updates which may result in revised counts, day over day.

Vaccination Booking System Eligibility Moves To Ages 55+ Province Wide

Effective Friday, April 9, Saskatchewan’s vaccine booking system eligibility is expanded to all individuals 55 years of age and older.  Eligible residents ages 55+ can book their appointment online at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine, or by phone at 1-833-SASKVAX. Additional information on how to book your appointment is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-booking.

Drive Thru Vaccination Clinics in Regina

The Regina COVID-19 vaccine drive thru will begin administering Pfizer/Biontech vaccines Friday, April 9 for residents age 53 and 54 years only, with possible changes to age ranges as demand allows in the coming days.  This clinic will be first come first serve, open 8:30 am to 11 pm daily at Evraz Place on the Regina Exhibition grounds.  For further information on all drive-thru clinics, including wait times, 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 358 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on April 9, bringing the provincial total to 35,748 cases. Saskatchewan’s COVID-19 Dashboard is here.

There are six new deaths to report today.  One (1) death in the 40-49 age group from the Regina zone; four deaths in the 70-79 age group in the Regina (2), Saskatoon (1), and South East (1) zones; and one death in the 80+ age group from the Regina zone.

The new cases are located in the Far North West (6), North West (30), North Central (14), North East (7), Saskatoon (64), Central West (3), Central East (19), Regina (108), South West (4), South Central (8), and South East (63) zones.  Thirty-two (32) new cases have pending residence information.  One case with pending residence information has been assigned to the North West zone. Fourteen (14) Saskatchewan residents tested out-of-province have been added to the North West zone. There are a total of 32,958 recoveries and 2,337 cases are considered active.

Two hundred and six (206) people are in hospital.  One hundred and sixty-three (163) people are receiving inpatient care: Far North West (2), Far North East (1), North West (5), North Central (3), North East (1), Saskatoon (42), Central East (14), Regina (82), South Central (3) and South East (10).  Forty-three (43) people are in intensive care: North Central (5), Saskatoon (7), Central East (3), Regina (25) and South Central (3).

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 242 (19.7 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 3,914 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on April 8, 2021.

To date, 697,515 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan.  As of April 7, 2021, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 584,301 tests performed per million population.  The national rate was 751,977 tests performed per million population.

As of April 8, 3,086 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the Far North West (2), Far North East (4), North West (7), North Central (24), Saskatoon (189), Central West (13), Central East (71), Regina (2,189), South West (19), South Central (266), and South East (283) zones.  There are 19 cases with 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 B.1.1.1.7 (UK) and eight are B.1.351 (SA).  The Regina zone accounts for 802 (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.

All Public Health Measures Extended to April 26

The Chief Medical Health Officer has extended the provincial public health orders announced Tuesday, March 9 and the Regina and area revisions announced Tuesday, March 24. The orders will remain in effect until April 26, 2021, and be reviewed at that time.

Due to increased COVID-19 transmission risk in Regina and area, revisions were made March 24 including: 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.

Please note: Variants of concern (VOC) are beginning to rise across southern Saskatchewan, particularly in the Moose Jaw, Weyburn and Estevan 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.

Outdoor Activity Guidelines Updated

With the weather warming up, many people are looking forward to getting outdoors to enjoy spring in Saskatchewan.  As a result, several outdoor activity guidelines are being updated to ensure activities can operate safely, including golf, camping and day camps.

• Child and Youth Day Camps
  Online and virtual activities are still recommended; however, the guidelines for Child and Youth Day Camps have been updated.  Where space is available, multiple groups of eight can participate in activities for sport, music, art, dance, drama and educational program day camps.
• Parks and Campgrounds
  With the online reservation system set to be launched for camping next week, the Parks and Camping Guidelines have been updated to assist in planning for the upcoming season.  This year, camping will open to 100 per cent capacity for overnight stays and limited-term campsites. Park, playground and aquatic access will be permitted, while all events must comply with the current public health order.  Laundry services will also be permitted by following guidelines that include face coverings and maintaining physical distance.
• Golf 
  With golf courses and driving ranges opening for the season, some changes have been made to Golf Guidelines. Tee times will only be required to be a minimum of eight minutes apart – a change from 10 minutes at the end of last season.  Tournaments are being permitted this season, but all awards and receptions must be done virtually at this time.

Additional guidelines are expected to be announced over the next couple of weeks, including youth and individual sports activities.

As public health measures are frequently updated and modified, additional information will continue to be added based on direction from public health officials and input from businesses and service providers. Residents are encouraged to understand the guidelines to ensure everyone’s safety and reduce the transmission of COVID-19. Find the most up-to-date version of the guidelines contained in the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan at saskatchewan.ca/re-open.

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 credit: Saskatchewan Government/Saskatchewan Government News Release)