COVID-19 in Sask: 4 deaths, 154 cases, 655 recoveries reported on Christmas Eve

Saskatchewan is reporting 154new COVID-19 cases and four new COVID-related deaths Thursday.

It's the lowest single-day case increase reported since Thursday, Nov. 19.

Thirty of the new cases are in the Saskatoon zone, 28 are in the north central area, 25 are in the Regina region, 17 are in the north west, 14 are in the far north east, 10are in the central east, 10 are in the far north west, three are in the south east, three are in the south central and two are in the central west region. Nine are pending residence information.

The province said two of the new deaths were in the north west zone and two were in the Regina region. One was in the 70 to 79 age group while three were in the 80 and older age group.

There have now been 134 known COVID-19-related deaths in Saskatchewan so far this year.

The province also reported 655more people recovered Wednesday.

The province has now reached a total of 14,255known cases, with 3,346 considered active.

40 more people in hospital than previously reported: Gov.

The provincial dashboard was recently reporting125 people in hospital, with 104 receiving inpatient care and 21 in the ICU.

However, the province said Saskatchewan is updating the definition of "hospitalizations" to align with national standards. It is now reporting people who are hospitalized but are no longer infectious with the virus.

That increasedthe number to 165 people in hospital, with 30 in the ICU and 135 receiving inpatient care.

The province said these are not new hospitalizations, but people who are considered "recovered" because they are no longer infectious but are still experiencing complications from the COVID-19 virus.

The province also gave an update on vaccinations. It said that1,786people had been vaccinated in Regina and Saskatoon as of Dec. 23.

On Tuesday, 2,394 COVID-19 tests were processed in Saskatchewan. The seven-day average of daily new cases is 203,or 16.7new cases per 100,000 people.