(The Canadian Press)

By paNOW Staff

COVID-19 Update

Province reports 221 new and 225 recovered cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan, two deaths

Apr 16, 2021 | 2:10 PM

The Government of Saskatchewan reported another 221 cases of COVID-19 in the province on April 16, as well as 225 recoveries. This brings the provincial total to 37,615 cases. There have been 34,550 recoveries and 2,603 cases are considered active. Ten cases that were tested out of province have been added to the Far North East (two), Far North West (four), North West (three), and Central West (one) zones.

The government reported another 221 new cases of COVID-19 in the province on April 16. (Government of Saskatchewan)

There are two new deaths to report. One fatality was reported in the 60-69 age group from the North West zone. One death was reported in the 40-49 age group from the South East zone.

The new cases in Northern Saskatchewan are located in the Far North West (five), Far North East (five), North West (21), North Central (eight), and North East (four) zones. Sixteen new cases have pending residence information. Five cases with pending residence information have been assigned to the Far North East (one), Regina (one), Saskatoon (one) and South East (two) zones.

One hundred and ninety people are in hospital. One hundred and forty-six people are receiving inpatient care: Far North West (one), Far North East (one), North West (five), North Central (seven), North East (two), Saskatoon (39), Central East (13), Regina (66), South Central (four) and South East (eight). Forty-four people are in intensive care: North Central (one), Saskatoon (nine), Central East (one), Regina (30), South West (one) and South Central (two).

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As of April 16, the government reported 190 COVID-19 related hospitalizations across the province, including 44 people in intensive case. (Government of Saskatchewan)

NITHA Data

There are 40 active cases of COVID-19 in NITHA communities as of April 15. 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 (seven). There have been 3369 cases (98%) that have recovered.

As of April 15, there are 40 active cases of COVID-19 in NITHA communities. (NITHA/Facebook)

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 264 (21.6 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 3,739 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on April 15.

To date, 721,225 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of April 14, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 604,565 tests performed per million population. The national rate was 776,131 tests performed per million population.

As of April 16, 4,326 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the Far North West (11), Far North East (two), North West (57), North Central (49), North East (four), Saskatoon (385), Central West (44), Central East (158), Regina (2,731), South West (70), South Central (349) and South East (419) zones. There are 47 cases with residence pending.

As of April 16, there are 2,603 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.

Variants of concern

There are 277 new lineage results being reported today. Of the 1,712 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 1,703 are B.1.1.1.7 (UK) and nine are B.1.351 (SA). The Regina zone accounts for 1,294 (76 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.

Vaccines Reported

An additional 8,168 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 323,573.

The 8,168 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered to residents living in the following regions: Far North West (11), Far North Central (one), Far North East (134), North West (452), North Central (463), North East (60), Saskatoon (2,532), Central West (78), Central East (740), Regina (2,468), South West (65), South Central (529) and South East (437). There were 198 doses administered with zone of residence pending.

The government reported another 8,168 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed across the province. This brings the total number of vaccines administered to 323,573. (Government of Saskatchewan)

Fifty-eight 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 Now Open to Ages 48+

In an effort to continue to protect residents as quickly as possible, the eligible age for booking vaccination appointments online or by telephone has been lowered to 48 years. Appointments can be made online at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19. People who do not have a cell phone or email account or need assistance can book by calling 1-833-SaskVax (1-833-727-5829).

Additional information on how to book your appointment is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-booking.

Drive Thru Vaccination Clinics Open to 48–54 Years

All drive thru and walk-in COVID-19 vaccination clinics are now available to residents aged 48–54 years with the exception of Regina, where the COVID-19 vaccine drive thru is available to residents aged 46–54 years. 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.

Additional Health Care Workers Eligible for Vaccination

Vaccine eligibility for non-SHA healthcare workers on the frontline in clinical care areas is being expanded to include:

• Frontline staff in private physician offices who provide patient care
• Frontline staff in private digital imaging clinics
• Frontline staff in community labs
• Frontline staff at the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency

These healthcare workers will receive a letter of eligibility over the coming days, which will be required to register for COVID-19 vaccination. Appointments for this group must be made through the telephone booking system only.

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 also includes limits on worship gathering sizes to allow no more than 30 people effective today.

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.