Saskatchewan Identifies 77 New Cases Of COVID-19, 129 Recoveries, One Death

Vaccines Reported

An additional 16,787 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 845,439.

The 16,787 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered to residents living in the following zones: Far North West, 257; Far North Central, 5; Far North East, 228; North West, 1,184; North Central, 1,297; North East, 619; Saskatoon, 4,858; Central West, 501; Central East, 1,120; Regina, 3,598; South West, 816; South Central, 799; and South East, 1,219.  There were 286 doses administered with zone of residence pending.

Seventy-eight per cent of those over the age of 40 have received their first dose.  Seventy-three per cent of those 30+ have received their first dose.  Sixty-eight per cent of those 18+ have received their first dose, while sixty-six per cent of those 12+ have also received their first dose.

Note: Age is calculated on the date of the most recent dose.  Someone age 69 at their first dose and 70 at their second will now be counted in the 70-79 group for both doses, resulting in a decrease in the 60-69 first dose number.

All vaccine administration details for the province, including first and second doses, can be found at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness.

Second Dose Booking Eligibility

All residents 12+ can receive their first dose.  As of today, second dose vaccinations are open to residents 55+ or anyone who received their first dose on or before April 7.  Individuals diagnosed with or being treated for cancer and those who have received solid organ transplants will receive a letter of eligibility in the mail that will allow them priority access to a second dose.

Eligibility to book for second doses is based on age or date of first dose.  Residents who meet at least one of these criteria are eligible for their second dose.  The following table is a tentative guideline for those who received Pfizer or Moderna for their first dose; timelines may change due to vaccine availability.

Saskatchewan is expecting another 3,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine, along with 74,880 doses of Pfizer vaccine this week.

Vaccination appointments can be booked through the Saskatchewan Health Authority online at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19 or by calling 1-833-SaskVax (1-833-727-5829).

A map of participating pharmacies across the province is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-pharmacies.  This online tool includes links to pharmacy booking websites and provides details on the vaccine brand being offered at each location.

For street addresses and hours of operation for drive-thru and walk-in clinics, see www.saskatchewan.ca/drive-thru-vax.

Please do not call until you are eligible to book your vaccination appointment.  If you do not know the date of your first dose or have misplaced the wallet card provided at the time of your first dose, 1-833-SaskVax can provide you with that date, or check your Immunization History on your MySaskHealthRecord account.

There may be clinic options outside your community and residents are encouraged to consider those alternate locations for immunization.  Additional stops should be avoided if possible when travelling to another community for an appointment.  More clinics will be added as new vaccine shipments are received.

During your second-dose appointment, the clinic or pharmacy will validate the timing and brand of your first dose to ensure you are receiving your second dose within the recommended timeframe.  The type of vaccine available at each location will be advertised.  Additional information on how to book your appointment is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-booking.

Daily COVID-19 Statistics

There are 77 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on June 10, bringing the provincial total to 47,668 cases.

The new cases are located in the following zones: Far North West, 9; Far North East, 1; North West, 8; North Central, 10; Saskatoon, 18; Central East, 1; Regina, 8; South West, 2; South Central, 12; and South East, 7. One case is pending residence information.  Eight cases with pending residence information have been assigned to the following zones: Far North West, 1; North West, 1; North Central, 2; and Regina, 4.

Eighteen cases who tested out of province were added: North Central, 1; Saskatoon, 7; Central West, 1; Regina, 8; and one case with pending resident information. One case in the South Central zone was found not to be a Saskatchewan resident and removed from case counts.

A detailed map of COVID-19 case locations can be found here.

One new death is being reported today in the 70 to 79 age group in the Central East zone.

Recoveries total 46,213 and 902 cases are considered active.

There are 101 people in hospital. Eighty-two people are receiving inpatient care, including one patient from Manitoba: Far North West, 1; North West, 12; North Central, 5; Saskatoon, 26; Central East, 4; Regina, 29; South West, 1; South Central, 3; and South East; 1.  Nineteen people are in intensive care: North West, 1; North Central, 4; Saskatoon, 8; Central East, 1; Regina, 4; and South West, 1.

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 case number is 79 (6.4 per 100,000).  A chart comparing today’s average to data collected over the past few months is available at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness/covid-19/seven-day-average-of-new-covid-cases.

There were 2,503 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on June 9, 2021.

To date, 882,144 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan.  As of June 8, 2021, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 742,115 tests performed per million population.  The national rate was 932,055.

The Ministry of Health is now reporting COVID-19 variants of concern according to the latest designations approved by the World Health Organization and aligns with the designations being used by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

As of June 9, 11,504 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the following zones: Far North West, 274; Far North Central, 1; Far North East, 74; North West, 715; North Central, 536; North East, 75; Saskatoon, 1,965; Central West, 120; Central East, 626; Regina, 4,721; South West, 388; South Central, 839; and South East, 1,103.  There are 67 screened VOCs with residence pending.

No new lineage results were reported for Variants of Concern today.  Of the 6,115 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 5,866 are Alpha (B.1.1.7), 194 are Gamma (P.1), 45 are Delta (B.1.617.2) and 10 are Beta (B.1.351).

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 health care 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.

It may not be allergies or a spring cold.  Get tested for COVID-19.

Fever? Cough and headache? Fatigued or experiencing shortness of breath?  Do not “tough it out” or assume it’s spring allergies.  Stay home and seek a COVID-19 test. Testing remains one of the most important tools to limiting the spread of COVID-19 in your community.  Even if you have been recently vaccinated, it can take up to three weeks for your immune system to respond.  Vaccines are not a cure preventing all possible transmission and you remain at risk of contracting COVID-19 during that time.

COVID-19 testing is available to all residents.  You can still receive a referral for COVID-19 testing through HealthLine 811 or a health care provider, and drive-thru testing sites are available without a referral seven days a week in Regina, Saskatoon, Yorkton and Prince Albert.  Information on symptoms to watch for and how to get tested is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-testing.

Re-Open Saskatchewan – Places of Worship

The capacity limits for graveside services have increased from 30 to 150 as part of Step One of Saskatchewan’s Re-Opening Roadmap.

Full details on the COVID-19 guidelines for Places of Worship can be found at www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/re-open-saskatchewan-plan/guidelines/places-of-worship-guidelines

Re-Open Saskatchewan – Recreation Guidelines

Warm sunny weather means outdoor pools are now open. Capacity limits now match the outdoor gathering limits of 150.  The capacity for indoor aquatic centres remains at 100.

Full details on the COVID-19 guidelines for Recreation can be found at www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/re-open-saskatchewan-plan/guidelines/outdoor-recreation-guidelines.

Re-Open Saskatchewan – Temporary Food Vendor Guidelines

Food trucks and beer gardens will be emerging over the summer months.  The gathering numbers for temporary food vendors are limited to 150 outdoors and 30 indoors.  Full details on the COVID-19 guidelines for Temporary Food Vendors can be found at www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/re-open-saskatchewan-plan/guidelines/copy-of-temporary-food-vendor-guidelines.

Enforcing Public Health Measures 

Public health orders are enforced by public health inspectors, the Ministry of Health enforcement team and police agencies.  If compliance cannot be achieved through education, enforcement can include the issuance of tickets or the laying of charges.

For the week of June 7, the Ministry of Health enforcement team has so far issued an individual ticket for $2,800 for failure to comply with a public health order for failure to wear a mask in an indoor public setting.  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.