There are 231 new cases of COVID-19 and 317 recoveries to report in Saskatchewan on April 21, bringing the provincial total to 38,883 cases. One (1) case not previously reported was added to the Saskatoon total.
There are four new deaths to report today. All four deaths were reported in the Regina zone from the 30-39 (1), 40-49 (1), 70-79 (1) and 80+ (1) age groups.
South East region reported 21 new cases. Two are in Estevan’s Zone 4 (86 active cases), 14 are in South East Zone 1, one in South East Zone 2 and four in South East Zone 3, which includes Weyburn.
The other new cases are located in the Far North West (12), North West (8), North Central (4), North East (1), Saskatoon (68), Central West (1), Central East (19), Regina (75), South West (8) and South Central (5) zones. Nine (9) new cases have pending residence information. Seven cases with pending residence information have been assigned to the North Central (1), Central East (1) and Regina (5) zones.
There are a total of 35,863 recoveries and 2,551 cases are considered active.
One hundred and eighty-five (185) people are in hospital. One hundred and thirty-six (136) people are receiving inpatient care: Far North East (1), North West (2), North Central (7), North East (1), Saskatoon (47), Central West (1), Central East (8), Regina (56), South West (1), South Central (4) and South East (8). Forty-nine (49) people are in intensive care: North Central (2), Saskatoon (8), Central East (4), Regina (34) and South Central (1).
The seven-day average of new COVID-19 case number was 253 (20.7 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 2,740 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on April 20.To date, 737,572 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of April 19, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan's per capita rate was 619,281 tests performed per million population. The national rate was 793,800 tests performed per million population.
As of April 20, 5,302 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the Far North West (45), Far North East (2), North West (103), North Central (63), North East (6), Saskatoon (543), Central West (73), Central East (197), Regina (3,118), South West (123), South Central (417) and South East (542) zones. There are 70 cases with residence pending.
There are zero (0) new lineage results reported today. Of the 2,060 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 2,046 are B.1.1.1.7 (UK), nine (9) are B.1.351 (SA) and five (5) are P.1. (Brazilian). The Regina zone accounts for 1,474 (72 per cent) of the VOC cases with confirmed lineage reported in Saskatchewan.
Please note that these VOCs 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.
Vaccination update
An additional 7,554 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 365,001.
The 7,554 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered to residents living in the following regions: Far North West (126), Far North Central (2), Far North East (155), North West (675), North Central (533), North East (321), Saskatoon (1,743), Central West (342), Central East (1,007), Regina (743), South West (408), South Central (512) and South East (719). There were 268 doses administered with zone of residence pending.
Fifty-two per cent of Saskatchewan residents age 40+ have received their first dose.
Note that the as of April 22, Phase One priority vaccinations will be considered complete, as the province continues with Phase Two vaccination roll out. The separate reporting of Phase One healthcare worker category will cease and this population will be reported on in the general age categories. Anyone identified as eligible for Phase One vaccination who did not yet receive a vaccine, can still make an appointment to be vaccinated. Once you are eligible you remain eligible.
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 open to ages 44+
Effective 8:00 am, Apr. 22, eligibility in the provincial age-based immunization program moves to age 44, except for the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District, where it remains age 40 and older. This applies to all immunization clinics: booked appointments, drive-thru/walk-in, and mobile.
Appointments can be made online at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19. People who do not have a cell phone or email account, need assistance in booking, or are providing documentation for priority eligibility status must 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.
