There are 199 new cases of COVID-19 and 205 recoveries to report in Saskatchewan on April 1, bringing the provincial total to 33,789 cases.
South East region reported 28 new cases, with five in Estevan’s Zone 4 (35 active cases), two in South East Zone 1, six in the South East Zone 2 and 15 in Weyburn’s Zone 3.
The other new cases are located in the Far North East (3), North Central (9), North East (10), Saskatoon (14), Central West (1), Central East (5), Regina (115), South West (1) and South Central (13) zones. Five (5) cases with pending residence information have been assigned to the Regina (4) and North Central (1) zones. There are a total of 31,404 recoveries and 1,949 cases are considered active.
One hundred ninety-three (193) people are in hospital. One hundred and fifty-nine (159) people are receiving inpatient care: Far North East (1), North West (6), North Central (2), Saskatoon (49), Central East (8), Regina (78), South West (1), South Central (2), South West (1) and South East (11). Thirty-four (34) people are in intensive care: Saskatoon (10), Central East (1) and Regina (23). It has been determined that there have been discrepancies in previously reported data for acute care hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Saskatchewan. These discrepancies in previous reports were a result of how patients who receive intensive care in a surge bed outside of an ICU were being recorded. The above data is accurate and reflects the updated reporting.
The seven-day average of daily new cases is 206 (16.8 new cases per 100,000).
There were 3,982 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on March 31.
To date, 669,431 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of March 30, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan's per capita rate was 561,268 tests performed per million population. The national rate was 727,313 tests performed per million population.
Please note: Variants of concern (VOC) are beginning to rise across southern Saskatchewan, particularly in the Moose Jaw and Weyburn areas. Residents in these areas are 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 to and from Moose Jaw
All Saskatchewan residents should monitor active cases in their area and adjust their activity accordingly. Active and new case information for each area can be found at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness
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 31, 1,682 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the Far North East (1), North Central (9), Saskatoon (53), Central West (5), Central East (27), Regina (1,348), South West (1), South Central (129) and South East (109) zones.
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.
There are 395 new lineage results being reported today. Of the 890 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 882 are B1.1.1.7 (UK) and eight are B1.351 (SA). The Regina zone accounts for 744 (or 84 per cent) of the VOC cases with confirmed lineage reported in Saskatchewan. Note: Five (5) VOC WGS results (South Central-2, Regina-2, Saskatoon-1) previously reported found to be duplicate tests and have been removed from the counts.
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, the per capita testing rate and current numbers of confirmed variants of concern can be found on the Government of Saskatchewan website. Please visit http://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-cases.
Vaccination update
An additional 7,706 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 200,633.
The 7,706 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered in the following regions: Far North West (381), Far North East (262), North Central (48), North East (22), Saskatoon (2,294), Central West (11), Central East (1111), Regina (2,110), South West (839), South Central (101) and South East (527).
The COVID-19 vaccine appointment booking system will expand to include residents 58 years of age and older, effective Friday, April 2. 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.
The AstraZeneca shipment from the United States arrives today and deliveries are on route to Regina (29,100), Saskatoon (11,000), North Battleford (900), and Prince Albert (4,300). A Moderna shipment is expected the week of April 12.
Vaccination information to be added to COVID-19 dashboard
On April 5th the Ministry of Health will launch a new dashboard with details on vaccine administration in the province, including first and second doses administered by age range. In preparation for the launch of the new dashboard, the ministry will be updating reporting systems used for vaccination information. During this transition the vaccine data will not be available on Saturday, April 3 and Sunday, April 4.
