In the latest weekly COVID-19 update for the week of April 24-30, Saskatchewan recorded 766 confirmed cases from 7,337 lab tests.
The confirmed cases are down from 829 the previous week, but tests were up from 6,951.
The province noted over half of the cases – 56 percent – were people 50-years-old and older.
Of the new cases, 268 are in the Saskatoon area, 145 in the Regina area, 106 in the Southern region, 102 in the Northern region, 89 in the Central region, and 17 in the Far North region.
There was a decrease in COVID patients in hospital by 19, to 390, while those in ICU remains unchanged at 20. There were 14 COVID-19 deaths during the last week of April, the same number as the previous week.
There were 17 confirmed COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care and care home settings reported.
Regarding vaccine status, 85.8 percent of residents 5-years-and-older have received at least one-dose of a two-dose vaccine, 80.8 per cent completed a series, and 52 percent of those 18-and-older received at least one booster dose.
Summary for the week of April 24-30, 2022
- One in ten laboratory tests were positive (weekly test positivity of 10.1 per cent), which is a decrease from the previous week (11.7 per cent).
- There were 572 new lineage results reported this week. Of the 572 variants of concern identified by whole genome sequencing, 100 per cent were Omicron. BA.2 sublineage is more transmissible compared to pre-variant 2020 COVID-19 and BA.1 sublineages but there is no current evidence of increased severity.
- The Omicron BA.2 sublineage accounted for 83.4 per cent of the variants of concern reported this week, which was higher compared to the previous week.
- During the two months period from February 13 to April 16, 2022, the risk of hospitalization, ICU admission and death was five, nine and seven times higher respectively among unvaccinated individuals compared to those vaccinated with three doses of a two-dose vaccine.
- There were 36.4 COVID-like illness patients per 1,000 emergency department visits which was lower than the average weekly rate in the previous six weeks (37.3 per week/1,000 visits).
- As of the week of May 2, there have been 368 Paxlovid prescriptions and two Remdesivir treatments provided.
- More than 20.3 million rapid antigen test kits have been distributed in the province. They are easily accessible at more than 600 locations.
Other notes from Sask. Government News Release
50 Years and Older, Get Boosted
Omicron is the dominant COVID-19 virus circulating in the province with BA.2 accounting for 83 per cent of the variants of concern reported this week yet only a little more than half of residents 18 years and up have had at least one booster vaccination.
Additional doses are strongly recommended for optimal protection against Omicron. From February 13 to April 16, 2022, an unvaccinated person was five times more likely to be hospitalized, nine times more likely to be admitted to ICU, and seven times more likely to die from COVID-19 than an individual with three doses.
- All residents 12 years and older are eligible to receive a third dose (first booster) four months after their second dose.
- All residents 50 years and older are eligible to receive a fourth dose (second booster) four months after their last dose.
If you have designated medical conditions, you may be able to receive your additional dose within three months.
It’s never too late to get your COVID-19 vaccination and getting boosted matters. Book your appointment today.
Weekly COVID-19 Epi Report Issued Thursdays, the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 integrated epidemiology (epi) report utilizes multiple data sources and includes laboratory-confirmed cases, deaths, tests, vaccination information provincially and by zones, as well as hospital and ICU census trends and distribution of rapid antigen tests. The epi report this week looks at data from Sunday, April 24 to Saturday, April 30, 2022. The hospitalization data is a comparison from April 27 to May 4, 2022.
The integrated epi report can be found online at saskatchewan.ca/COVID-19-cases.