REGINA — The daily COVID dashboard operated by Saskatchewan public health has been updated to show cases by age category, with details shared during this week’s COVID-19 summary.
The province switched its COVID updates from daily to weekly at the end of July, at which time updates on social media also changed from representing data by age category to vaccination status.
Now, information shared by public health will once again include an age breakdown of cases every day, with the addition of a new category for 0-11 years old.
“This data will be updated seven days a week and will be integrated into the COVID-19 dashboard in the coming weeks,” said the SHA release.
The change follows public requests asking about case numbers being reported in schools over the past week, especially in students who are not eligible to be vaccinated due to their age.
SHA said that the Ministry of Health is also working to provide data regarding hospitalization according to age and vaccination status on the dashboard, as soon as available.
Saskatchewan recorded 506 new cases today, a new record high number in the province. Active cases have reached 3,929, with 2,842 reported between Sept. 8 and today.
Data indicates that 101 of today’s new cases are in children aged 0-11, which is the highest number out of all age categories today.
The majority of new cases are also noted to be in unvaccinated individuals, with only about 4 per cent in those with a first dose and 11 per cent in those fully vaccinated.
The seven-day rolling average for COVID cases in Saskatchewan is currently at 406, or 33.6 per 100,000.
Recoveries totalled 2,076 in the past week, while hospitalizations have reached 225 individuals — 182 receiving in-patient care and 42 in intensive care. Of those, two individuals aged 0-11 have been hospitalized, but are not in ICU.
Fourteen new deaths have been reported since Sept. 8, two of which have occurred since yesterday.
Vaccination is also continuing to be slow moving, with the province reporting that 78 per cent of eligible individuals have received a first dose and 70 per cent have been fully vaccinated.
SHA clinics will also be prioritizing testing results for those who are symptomatic, in an effort to support contact tracing investigators and reduce transmission.
Asymptomatic individuals may wait longer for test results, said public health. Those seeking a negative result to travel or due to being unvaccinated are encouraged to seek testing from private labs.
Variant testing has also ceased, as results are showing the Delta variant has become prominent in the province. Public health said the decision was made to speed up the testing process and make results available quicker for patients.
Detailed breakdowns of Sask.’s COVID cases by age will be shared by public health at saskatchewan.ca/COVID-cases, until data is added to the provincial dashboard.
