There are 191 new cases of COVID-19 and 176 recoveries to report in Saskatchewan on March 31, bringing the provincial total to 33,590 cases.
Two Saskatchewan residents who tested positive for COVID-19 have died. The deaths were reported in the 70-79 age group from the Regina zone and 80+ age group from the South West zone.
South East region reported 15 new cases, none in Estevan’s Zone 4. The new cases are in South East Zone 1 (1), Zone 2 (3) and Weyburn’s Zone 3 (11).
The other new cases are located in the Far North East (1), North West (3), North Central (5), North East (3), Saskatoon (20), Central East (15), Regina (98), South West (6) and South Central (20) zones.
There are five (5) cases with pending residence information. Four (4) cases with pending residence information have been assigned to the North West (2) and North Central (2) zones. There are a total of 31,199 recoveries and 1,955 cases are considered active.
One hundred sixty (166) people are in hospital. One hundred and forty-three (143) people are receiving inpatient care: Far North East (1), North West (4), North Central (6), Saskatoon (38), Central East (10), Regina (74), South West (1), South Central (2) and South East (7). Twenty-three (23) people are in intensive care: North Central (2), Saskatoon (5), Central East (1) and Regina (15).
The seven-day average of daily new cases is 201 (16.4 new cases per 100,000).
There were 2,978 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on March 30.
To date, 665,449 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of March 29 when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan's per capita rate was 558,467 tests performed per million population. The national rate was 724,908 tests performed per million population.
Please note: Variants of concern (VOC) are beginning to rise across southern Saskatchewan, particularly in the Moose Jaw area. Moose Jaw residents are urged to adherence 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 to and from Moose Jaw
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.
As of March 30, 1,673 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the Far North East (1), North Central (6), Saskatoon (46), Central West (5), Central East (26), Regina (1,348), South West (1), South Central (128) and South East (109) zones. The 28 new VOCs reported in the Saskatoon zone are results from VOC screening positives COVID-19 cases tested between March 24 and 29.
These have previously been reported as "presumptive positives" but all screening tests will be considered confirmed VOCs for the purposes of public reporting and contact investigations.
Of the 495 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 487 are B1.1.1.7 (UK) and eight are B1.351 (SA). The Regina zone accounts for 412 (or 83 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.
Vaccination update
An additional 8,491 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 192,927.
The 8,491 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered in the following regions: Far North West (295), Far North Central (2), Far North East (610), North Central (141), North East (509), Saskatoon (2,080), Central West (1,135), Central East (751), Regina (1,201), South Central (1,144) and South East (623).
The COVID-19 vaccine booking system has been expanded to include residents 60 years of age and older. Eligible residents are encouraged to book their COVID-19 vaccinations and can do so online or by phone. Additional information on how to book your appointment is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-booking.
One fifth of Saskatchewan residents in their 80s have now received their second dose of vaccine and are fully vaccinated.
Pfizer shipments were received yesterday for Regina (14,040 doses), Saskatoon (15,210 doses), North Battleford (2,340 doses), Prince Albert (3,510 doses), and Yorkton (1,170 doses) Moderna has confirmed 855,600 doses for Canada the week of April 5. Saskatchewan shipments will include the remaining deliveries from the previous week.
