Vaccine age lowered to 48+ starting Friday, 293 new cases and two deaths announced

There are 293 new cases and 223 recoveries from COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on April 15, bringing the provincial total to 37,384 cases; 34,325 recoveries and 2,599 cases considered active. One case with pending residence information has been found to be an out-of-province resident and removed from the counts. Seven cases that were tested out of province have been added to the North West (one), Saskatoon (three), Regina (one) and South East (two) zones.

There are two new deaths to report today. One death was reported in the 70-79 age group from the Regina zone. One death was reported in the 80+ age group from the South East zone.

The new cases in northern Saskatchewan are located in the Far North West (eight), North West (24), North Central (eight), and North East (five) zones. Eighteen new cases have pending residence information. Five cases with pending residence information have been assigned to the North West (one), Regina (three) and South East (one) zones.

The government announced 293 news cases on April 15, 223 recoveries and two deaths related to COVID-19. (Government of Saskatchewan)

One hundred and eighty-eight people are in hospital. One hundred and forty-seven people are receiving inpatient care: Far North West (one), Far North East (one), North West (three), North Central (six), North East (two), Saskatoon (40), Central East (10), Regina (73), South West (one), South Central (one) and South East (nine). Forty-one people are in intensive care: North Central (one), Saskatoon (nine), Central East (two), Regina (27), South West (one) and South Central (one).

As of April 15, there are 188 people being hospitalized in relation to COVID-19, including 41 people in intensive care. (Government of Saskatchewan)

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 284 (23.2 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 3,573 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on April 14.

To date, 717,486 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of April 13, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 601,533 tests performed per million population. The national rate was 772,612 tests performed per million population.

As of April 15, 4,183 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the Far North West (10), Far North East (two), North West (51), North Central (48), North East (four), Saskatoon (372), Central West (44), Central East (135), Regina (2,673), South West (67), South Central (342) and South East (398) zones. There are 37 cases with residence pending.

As of April 15, there are 2,599 active cases of COVID-19 across the province. (Submitted photo/Government of Saskatchewan)

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 were zero new lineage results being reported today. Of the 1,435 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 1,426 are B.1.1.1.7 (UK) and nine are B.1.351 (SA). The Regina zone accounts for 1,138 (79 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.

NITHA Data

As of April 14, there are 39 active cases of COVID-19 in NITHA communities.

These cases are located in the Far North Central, Athabasca (one), Far North West (15), Far North East (17), North Central (0), and North East (six).

There have been 3,367 cases (98 per cent) recovered.

As of April 14, there are 39 active cases of COVID-19 in NITHA communities in Northern Saskatchewan. (NITHA/Facebook)

Vaccines Reported

An additional 7,956 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 315,405.

The 7,956 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered to residents living in the following regions: Far North West (220), Far North Central (two), Far North East (134), North West (619), North Central (224), North East (39), Saskatoon (1,888), Central West (146), Central East (715), Regina (2,777), South West (116), South Central (389) and South East (420). There were 267 doses administered with zone of residence pending.

The Saskatchewan government reported another 7,956 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered across the province, bringing the total number to 315,405. (Government of Saskatchewan)

Fifty-six per cent of Saskatchewan residents age 50+ have received their first dose:

Status of Priority Population Vaccinations, as of April 14, 2021

Group

LTC Residents

PCH Residents

Age 80+

Age 70-79

Age 60-69

Age 50-59

Phase 1 health care workers

(includes LTC and PCH staff)

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.

Drive-Thru Vaccination Clinics Open to 51-54 Today, 48-54 Years Friday

Today, all drive-thru and walk-in COVID-19 vaccination clinics will be available to residents 51-54 years. Starting Friday, April 16, all vaccination drive-thru clinics will expand eligibility to residents from 48-54 years.

NOTE: This does not include Regina. The Regina COVID-19 vaccine drive thru will be available to residents 46-54 years starting Friday, April 16.

All drive-thru clinics are first come first serve. For further information on drive-thru clinics in the province, including hours of operation and wait times, see www.saskhealthauthority.ca/news/service-alerts-emergency-events/Pages/COVID-19-Vaccine-Drive-Thru-Wait-Times.aspx.

Public Health Measures

Due to increased COVID-19 transmission risk in Saskatchewan, the Chief Medical Health Officer announced amendments to the Public Health Order.

Effective April 13, household bubbles are limited to immediate household members only for all of Saskatchewan. Persons who live alone and single parents of minor children are permitted to meet with one consistent household of less than five individuals. Co-parenting arrangements are permitted to continue. Caregivers, support personnel and tradespersons who are not a member of the household are not included in the maximum number of people allowed in that household.

The new Public Health Order will also include limits on worship gathering sizes to allow no more than 30 people effective 12:01 tomorrow (Friday, April 16).

Full details on current public health measures, including the additional measures in effect for Regina and area, can be found at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-measures.

These Public Health Order measures are in effect until April 26 and will be reviewed at that time.

Residents are also 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 throughout the province at this time

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.

Weekly Reporting of Testing Numbers and Cases for Youth
The trends of COVID-19 cases in school-aged children are being monitored. The weekly report of cases and testing numbers for children aged 0-19, including data by age and positivity rates, has been posted at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19-Safe-Schools-Plan.

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.

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panews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow

by paNOW Staff

Vaccine age lowered to 48+ starting Friday, 293 new cases and two deaths announced

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