There are 177 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on May 9, bringing the provincial total to 43,141 cases. There are no new COVID cases in the Weyburn area, with 39 active cases currently, and 221 active cases in the southeast region.
No new deaths are reported today.
The new cases are located in the following zones: Far North West, 8; Northwest, 18; North Central, 9; Saskatoon, 40; Central West, 1; Central East, 14; Regina, 42; Southwest, 11; South Central, 15; and Southeast, 18. One new case is pending residence information. Two new cases with pending residence information has been assigned to the North Central zone (1) and Regina (1).
Recoveries total 40,379, including 210 new recoveries as of May 9, and 2,260 cases are considered active.
There are 157 people in hospital, and 116 people are receiving inpatient care: Northwest, 8; North Central, 3; Northeast, 2; Saskatoon, 52; Central East, 2; Regina, 41; Southwest, 1; South Central, 3; and Southeast, 4. Forty-one people are in intensive care: North Central, 3; Saskatoon, 15; Central East, 2; Regina, 19; Southwest, 1; and South Central, 1.
The seven-day average of new COVID-19 case number is 213 (17.4 new cases per 100,000). A chart comparing today's average to data collected over the past few months is available at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness/covid-19/seven-day-average-of-new-covid-cases.
Vaccines Reported
An additional daily record of 13,651 doses of COVID-19 vaccine was administered in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines provided in the province to 518,133.
The 13,651 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered to residents living in the following zones: Far North West, 123; Far North Central, 6; Far North East, 90; Northwest, 679; North Central, 848; Northeast, 486; Saskatoon, 4,664; Central West, 425; Central East, 1,170; Regina, 2,311; Southwest, 493; South Central, 973; and Southeast, 988. There were 395 doses administered with zone of residence pending.
Seventy-one per cent of those over the age of 40 have received their first dose, which meets an important vaccination threshold criteria for Step One of the Saskatchewan Re-Opening Roadmap to be activated in three weeks.
Fifty-nine per cent of those 30+ have received their first dose. Fifty per cent of those 18+ have received their first dose.
Saskatchewan expects to receive 63,180 Pfizer doses the week of May 10. The vaccine will be distributed as follows: Regina (10,530), Saskatoon (8,190), pharmacies (31,590), North Battleford (2,340), Prince Albert (1,170), Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) North (2,340), ISC South (2,340), ISC North Battleford (1,170), and Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority (NITHA) Prince Albert (3,510) with deliveries to be completed by Wednesday, May 12.
Vaccination Booking System Open to Age 32+; changes to 29+ Monday
Eligibility in the provincial age-based immunization program has expanded to include age 32+. Effective8 a.m. Monday, May 10, eligibility in the provincial age-based immunization program moves to 29 years of age and older.
This applies to all immunization clinics: booked appointments, drive-thru/walk-ins, pharmacies and mobile clinics.
Prioritized front-line workers are also eligible. A list of those occupations is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vax-eligibility. Eligible priority groups may visit a drive-thru or walk-in clinic, arrange an appointment with a participating pharmacy, or call 1-833-SaskVax (1-833-727-5829) to make an appointment through the SHA booking system. Prioritized front-line workers will be required to provide proof of employment at the time of immunization (a pay stub, letter from their employer, or a copy of a professional license).
Residents aged 32+ may book online at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19 or by calling 1-833-SaskVax (1-833-727-5829). They may also attend a scheduled drive-thru or book at a participating pharmacy. Additional information on how to book your appointment is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-booking. Please do not call until you are eligible to book your vaccination appointment.
The pharmacy vaccination pilot rollout continues and additional pharmacies will be added as larger volumes of vaccine become available. The current list of pharmacies participating is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-pharmacies. Find the participating pharmacies near you now on the new map tool.
Individuals who experience a severe or unusual reaction after getting a COVID-19 vaccination can report it by calling 811. Anyone experiencing a severe reaction such as difficulty breathing should call 911. Any adverse event that may be related to a vaccination is reported in order to continuously monitor the safety of vaccines.
There were 3,055 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on May 8, including 191 tests in the southeast region.
To date, 800,129 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of May 7, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan's per capita rate was 672,088 tests performed per million population. The national rate was 856,454.
As of May 8, 8,258 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the following zones: Far North West, 183; Far North East, 6; North West, 307; North Central, 230; North East, 48; Saskatoon, 1,001; Central West, 91; Central East, 366; Regina, 4,185; South West, 263; South Central, 601; and South East, 848. There are 129 screened VOCs with residence pending.
There are 230 new lineage results reported today. Of the 3,344 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 3,288 are B.1.1.1.7 (UK), 47 are P.1 (Brazilian) and nine are B.1.351 (SA).
Further statistics on the total number of cases among health care 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.
Don't Let COVID-19 Hitch a Ride Home with You
• While Saskatchewan continues to monitor COVID-19 trends throughout the province, public health reminds all residents to ensure any travel both within the province and inter-provincially is for essential purposes only.
• If your travel interprovincial is necessary, please be aware of the risk of transmission in those jurisdictions, the public health orders that are in effect there, and plan to be tested immediately upon return home.
