COVID-19 in Sask.: 70% of those 12 and up now vaccinated with at least 1 dose

Seventy per cent of Saskatchewan residents 12 and older have now received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, the province reported Saturday.

That was thegoal the province had previously said needed to be met before initiating Step 3 of its reopening plan. However, the province announced last week that all remaining pandemicrestrictions will be lifted on July 11.

At that point,70 per cent of those 18 had received a first vaccine dose. The rate was 68 per cent for those 12 and up when the government made its announcement last week.

Meanwhile, 80 per cent of those 40 and upin Saskatchewan have now received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the province said in its latest COVID-19 update. The rate is 75 per cent for those 30 and older, 71 per cent for those 18 and up.

An additional 23,323 doses of COVID-19 vaccine wereadministeredinthe province Friday, bringing the total numberto 1,092,980.

All Saskatchewan residents 12 years and older who have received their first dose of vaccine are now eligible to receive their second dose, as long as 28 days have passed since the first dose.

The province is urging all who are eligible to get their second vaccine dose, especially becausethe highly contagious delta coronavirus variant is circulating in Saskatchewan.

Daily COVID-19 numbers

Saskatchewan reported 61 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday and the death of onemore person from the illness a Regina resident in their 40s.

There are now 79 people in hospital in the province due to COVID-19, including 10in intensive care.

Another 1,905COVID-19 tests were processed in Saskatchewan Friday, according to the province's update. Of the 48,706 knowncases of the illness caused by the novel coronavirus in the province to date, 597 are considered active.

The seven-day average of daily new cases in Saskatchewanis 50 four new cases per 100,000 population.

The new cases reported Saturday are in the following provincial zones:

• Far northwest: 10.
• Far northeast: one.
• Northwest: 12.
• North central: three.
• Saskatoon: 15.
• Central west: three.
• Central east: one.
• Regina: seven.
• South central: two.
• Southeast: six.

Residence information is pending for one othernew case.

The province also reported 71 more recoveries from COVID-19 on Saturday.