(The Canadian Press)

By paNOW Staff

COVID NUMBERS

Weekly epi report indicates 12 new COVID-related deaths, another 376 new positive cases

May 26, 2022 | 4:00 PM

There were 12 newly-reported COVID-19 deaths last week as reported in the Ministry of Health’s weekly integrated epidemiology (epi) report. This was lower compared to the previous week’s total which was 22.

There was a drop in laboratory testing from last week with 6,402 performed in Saskatchewan, reflecting 5.3 tests performed per 1,000 population, lower than the number of tests in the previous week (6,908).

Of these tests, 376 were positive for COVID-19 with the majority being in the 50 and over population and one in eighteen laboratory tests were positive.

This is lower than the number of new cases in the previous week (465).

The Omicron BA.2 sublineage accounted for 87.8 per cent of the variants of concern reported this week, which was higher compared to the previous week. BA.2 sublineage is more transmissible compared to pre-variant 2020 COVID-19 and BA.1 sublineages but there is no evidence of increased severity.

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There were 16.5 COVID-like illness patients per 1,000 emergency department visits which was lower than the average weekly rate in the previous six weeks (36.9 per week/1,000 visits).

There were five confirmed COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care and care home settings were reported this week, three of which were in Saskatoon.

As of May 21, 2022, of the population five years and older, 85.9 per cent received at least one dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine and 81 per cent completed a series.

Among the population 18 years and older, 52.4 per cent had received at least one booster vaccination.

More than 21 million rapid antigen test kits have been distributed in the province. They are easily accessible at more than 600 locations.

The province continues to encourage everyone to get vaccinated, including their booster shots, as preventative practices reduce your risk of contracting COVID-19.

• Get vaccinated, including your booster doses. The third dose is vital to protecting against serious illness and hospitalization and all residents 12 years and older are now eligible for a third dose four months after completing their primary series.
• Consider masking in all indoor, public places where you cannot maintain physical distance, regardless of your vaccination status.
• Stay home if experiencing even mild symptoms. Do not assume it’s just a cold or seasonal allergy.
• Improve the ventilation in your home or workspace: open windows or doors regularly or consider a HEPA filter system.
• Pick up a rapid antigen test kit and test regularly whether you have symptoms or not.

Issued Thursdays, the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 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, May 15 to Saturday, May 21, 2022. The hospitalization data is a comparison from May 19 to May 25, 2022.

The integrated epi report can be found online at saskatchewan.ca/COVID-19-cases.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow