Most recent Sask. data shows 22 per cent of diagnosed COVID-19 cases asymptomatic

New numbers released by the Saskatchewan government on Thursday show 22 per cent of people diagnosed withCOVID-19 prior to June 21 did not have symptoms.

The number was included in a slide show of data presented by the province's chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab at a news conference.

Of the 748 cases recorded by the province during the data period, 167 of them were asymptomatic.

Fifty-eight per cent of cases showed symptoms of a cough, while 34 per cent had a fever. Headache was a symptom in 29 per cent of cases, 29per cent had a sore throat and 24 per cent had muscle pain.

Asymptomatic cases were more common than those that had shortness of breath (17 per cent), chills (16 per cent) or loss of smell and taste (16 per cent).

"There's a long symptoms list for which you can seek testing and the threshold for testing is very low in Saskatchewan, you can get it anywhere, you can get it if you have any of these symptoms," said Dr. Shahab.

The data also includes the number of confirmed cases by age and gender. It shows the highest number of cases in the 20-39 age group, followed by the age group of 40-59.

According to the document, the highest number of hospitalizations was in the far north, which has also hasthe highest number of cases overall.

The age group with the highest number of deaths in Saskatchewan is 60-79, with eight of a total 13 deaths occurring in that age group.

The document also indicates women are more likely to gettested than men.

Dr. Shahab said serious hospitalizations and deaths are more common in men, a trend that has also emerged internationally.

"A message to everyone, especially men, that if you do have any symptoms do consider testing, don't hold back thinking that it's something that will go away," he said.

The document also shows a shift from more travel-related cases at the beginning of the pandemic to more non-travel cases in recent weeks.