COVID-19 in Sask.: Record number of people in intensive care, 3 deaths recorded

Saskatchewan reported 221 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, and three people have died.

Two of the people who died were in their 50s and in the Regina zone. One was in their 80s, in the southeast zone.

As of Sunday there were 194 people in hospital in the province due to COVID-19, including a record 44 in intensive care.

The most recent update said 2,367 of the more transmissible coronavirus variants of concern (VOC) were identified in Saskatchewan mostly in the Regina-area.

The province warned that VOCs are beginning to rise across southern Saskatchewan, particularly in the Moose Jaw and Weyburn areas. Over 100 VOC cases have now been identified in the Saskatoon, south central and southeast zones.

Two new VOC cases were confirmed by whole genome sequencing. The Regina area accounts for 84 per cent of the VOC cases with confirmed lineage reported in the province.

Of the 34,544 known COVID-19 cases to date in the province, 2,196 are considered active. The Regina-area reported 1,117 active cases.

The seven-day average of daily new cases in Saskatchewan is 216 or 17.6 new cases per 100,000 population.

The new cases Sunday are in the following provincial zones:

• Far northeast:seven.
• Northwest: seven.
• North central: three.
• Northeast: six.
• Saskatoon: 27.
• Central east: 13.
• Regina: 112.
• Southwest: four.
• South central: 15.
• Southeast: 26.

The province also reported 165 new recoveries on Sunday. There have been 31,909 known recoveries in total as of Sunday.

To date, 681,074 COVID-19 tests were processed in Saskatchewan, 3,527 of which were processed on Saturday.

Vaccination dashboard to launch Monday

The province said it expectedto receive 14,100 doses of Moderna vaccine on Tuesday. These doses were originally part of a delayedMarch 22 shipment.

On Monday, the Ministry of Health said it would launch a new dashboard with details on vaccine administration in the province.

This will include information on first and second doses administered by age range.

Because the Ministry is transitioning to the new system and updating its reporting systems used for vaccine information, vaccine data is not available today.

Today's data will be included in the new dashboard tomorrow.

Keep Easter celebrations safe: province

The province is reminding Saskatchewan residents to abide by public health recommendations and consider hosting virtual gatherings over the Easter weekend.

Except for the Regina region, private indoor gatherings must be from two to three consistent households and cannot exceed 10 people.

In the Regina area, indoor private gatherings are limited to immediate households only, with the exception of individuals who live alone and single parents of minor children. Travel in and out of the Regina area is not recommended unless absolutely necessary.

People planning Easter dinners are also encouraged to purchase their groceries ahead of time and have only one member of the household shopping.

One person should handle the preparation of food and drink, following proper food safety protocols and wearing a non-medical mask, and all served food should be plated by a single person.