There were 10 cases of COVID-19 reported in North Central, which includes Prince Albert, on Monday.
This was among a total of 202 cases reported in the province on Monday. Regina led the province with 101 cases reported.
North Central 2, which is Prince Albert, has 42 active cases.
North Central 1, which includes communities such as Christopher Lake, Candle Lake and Meath Park, has 29 active cases and North Central 3 has 25 active cases.
There were no deaths reported related to COVID-19 on Monday. The number of deaths related to COVID-19 in the province is currently 433.
There are currently 162 people in hospital overall in the province. Of the 137 reported as receiving in patient care there are nine in North Central. Of the 25 people reported as being in intensive care there is one in North Central.
The current seven-day average 199.3, or 14.7 cases per 100,000 population.
Of the 33,233 reported COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan, 1,978 are considered active.
The recovered number now sits at 30,822 after 174 more recoveries were reported.
The total number of cases since the beginning of the pandemic is 33,233. Of those, 8,063 cases are from the North area (3,267 North West, 3,489 North Central and1,307 North East).
There were 3,067 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on March 24.
As of today there have been 659,170 COVID-19 tests performed in Saskatchewan.
There were 6,104 doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered yesterday in Saskatchewan bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 179,800.
There were no doses administered in the North Central reported. Doses were also administered in the Central East, South Central, Regina and Saskatoon.
The appointment booking system is currently available to residents 62 years and older. These residents are encouraged to book their COVID-19 vaccinations and can do so online or by phone.
The number of Saskatchewan residents in their 80s who have now received their second dose of vaccine has reached the 10,000 mark. More than two-thirds of personal care home (PCH) residents in Saskatchewan have received their second dose of vaccine and are fully vaccinated.
Saskatchewan to follow updated AstraZeneca guidelines
A shipment of 46,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from the United States is expected to arrive in Saskatchewan this week.
Today, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization issued updated guidelines on the use of AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD in Canada, recommending that use for populations under 55 be paused, pending further review of vaccine safety. Saskatchewan will be following this recommendation.
The primary use of AstraZeneca in Saskatchewan to date was at the drive thru clinic in Regina, with more than 15,000 doses available to residents 58 years and older. Some residents younger than 55 would have received AstraZeneca including eligible health care workers and vaccinators though no thrombosis-like adverse events have been reported in Saskatchewan to date.
“While there remains fewer than 100 doses of AstraZeneca in the province right now, additional shipments are expected.The Saskatchewan Health Authority is examining the potential impacts to vaccine roll-out plans now and will have an update in the coming days,” the release said.
A shipment of Moderna vaccine that was expected March 30 has been delayed due to ongoing quality assurance processes. PHAC expects this shipment will be available for pick up from the manufacturer on April 1 for distribution in Canada. A delivery date to Saskatchewan is not yet known.
1,474 variants of concern identified Monday
There were 1,474 confirmed variants of concern (VOC) cases identified by the province on March 24.
Regina led the province with 1,222 identified, other regions included Saskatoon, the Far North East, Central East, Central West South and South East.
These have previously been reported as “presumptive positives” but all screening tests will be considered confirmed VOCs for the purposes of public reporting and contact investigations.
There was one new lineage results reported today. Of the 495 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 487 are B1.1.1.7 (UK) and eight are B1.351 (SA).
The Regina zone accounts for 410 (or 84 per cent) of the VOC cases with confirmed lineage reported in Saskatchewan.
Please note that these VOC may have been initially identified via means other than screening (i.e. selection for whole genome sequencing without screening) and that whole genome sequencing results to identify lineage are included in the screening results.”
The province has also noted VOC are beginning to rise across southern Saskatchewan particularly in the Moose Jaw area. Moose Jaw residents are urged to adhere to best personal protective measures.
