There are 221 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on April 16, bringing the provincial total to 37,615 cases. Weyburn has six new COVID cases and 101 active cases, with 286 active cases in the southeast region.
Ten cases that were tested out of province have been added to the Far North East (2), Far North West (4), North West (3), and Central West (1) zones.
There are two new deaths to report today. One death was reported in the 60-69 age group from the Northwest zone. One death was reported in the 40-49 age group from the Southeast zone.
The new cases are located in the Far North West (5), Far North East (5), Northwest (21), North Central (8), Northeast (4), Saskatoon (25), Central West (1), Central East (11), Regina (57), Southwest (18), South Central (25) and Southeast (25) zones. Sixteen new cases have pending residence information. Five cases with pending residence information have been assigned to the Far North East (1), Regina (1), Saskatoon (1) and Southeast (2) zones.
There are a total of 34,550 recoveries, including 225 new recoveries as of April 16, and 2,603 cases are considered active.
There are 190 people in hospital, and 146 people are receiving inpatient care: Far North West (1), Far North East (1), Northwest (5), North Central (7), Northeast (2), Saskatoon (39), Central East (13), Regina (66), South Central (4) and Southeast (8). Forty-four people are in intensive care: North Central (1), Saskatoon (9), Central East (1), Regina (30), Southwest (1) and South Central (2).
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.
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 (1), Far North East (134), Northwest (452), North Central (463), Northeast (60), Saskatoon (2,532), Central West (78), Central East (740), Regina (2,468), Southwest (65), South Central (529) and Southeast (437). There were 198 doses administered with zone of residence pending.
Fifty-eight per cent of Saskatchewan residents age 50+ have received their first dose.
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-Through Vaccination Clinics Open to 48-54 Years
All drive-through 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-through clinics are first come first serve. For further information on drive-through 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.
There were 3,739 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on April 15, including 225 tests for the southeast region.
To date, 721,225 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of April 14, 2021, 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 (2), Northwest (57), North Central (49), Northeast (4), Saskatoon (385), Central West (44), Central East (158), Regina (2,731), Southwest (70), South Central (349) and Southeast (419) zones. There are 47 cases with residence pending.
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.
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.
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.
These Public Health Order measures are in effect until April 26 and will be reviewed at that time.
Residents are also 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 throughout the province at this time
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.
