There are 293 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on April 15, bringing the provincial total to 37,384 cases. There are 10 new COVID cases in the Weyburn area, and 109 active cases in the area with 297 active cases in the southeast region.
One case with pending residence information has been found to be an out-of-province resident and removed from the counts. Seven (7) cases that were tested out of province have been added to the Northwest (1), Saskatoon (3), Regina (1) and Southeast (2) zones.
There are two new deaths to report today. One death was reported in the 70-79 age group from the Regina zone. One death was reported in the 80+ age group from the Southeast zone.
The new cases are located in the Far North West (8), North West (24), North Central (8), North East (5), Saskatoon (74), Central West (15), Central East (22), Regina (87), South West (4), South Central (4) and South East (24) zones. Eighteen (18) new cases have pending residence information. Five cases with pending residence information have been assigned to the North West (1), Regina (3) and Southeast (1) zones.
There are a total of 34,325 recoveries, including 223 new recoveries, and 2,599 cases are considered active.
There are 188 people in hospital, and 147 people are receiving inpatient care: Far North West (1), Far North East (1), North West (3), North Central (6), North East (2), Saskatoon (40), Central East (10), Regina (73), South West (1), South Central (1) and South East (9). Forty-one people are in intensive care: North Central (1), Saskatoon (9), Central East (2), Regina (27), South West (1) and South Central (1).
The seven-day average of daily new cases is 284 (23.2 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 7,956 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 315,405.
The 7,956 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered to residents living in the following regions: Far North West (220), Far North Central (2), Far North East (134), North West (619), North Central (224), North East (39), Saskatoon (1,888), Central West (146), Central East (715), Regina (2,777), South West (116), South Central (389) and South East (420). There were 267 doses administered with zone of residence pending.
Fifty-six per cent of Saskatchewan residents age 50+ have received their first dose.
There were 3,573 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on April 14, including 258 tests in the southeast region.
To date, 717,486 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of April 13, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan's per capita rate was 601,533 tests performed per million population. The national rate was 772,612 tests performed per million population.
As of April 15, 4,183 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the Far North West (10), Far North East (2), North West (51), North Central (48), North East (4), Saskatoon (372), Central West (44), Central East (135), Regina (2,673), South West (67), South Central (342) and Southeast (398) zones.There are 37 cases with residence pending.
There were zero (0) new lineage results being reported today. Of the 1,435 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 1,426 are B.1.1.1.7 (UK) and nine are B.1.351 (SA). The Regina zone accounts for 1,138 (79 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 will also include limits on worship gathering sizes to allow no more than 30 people effective 12:01 tomorrow (Friday, April 16).
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.
Weekly Reporting of Testing Numbers and Cases for Youth
The trends of COVID-19 cases in school-aged children are being monitored. The weekly report of cases and testing numbers for children aged 0-19, including data by age and positivity rates, has been posted at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19-Safe-Schools-Plan.
