Saskatchewan saw a slight increase of five new COVID-19 cases on Monday, along with eight more recoveries.
That’s one of the lowest single-day increases since mid-July, since clusters were identified in communal living settings in the southwest and west-central parts of the province, and have since spread to other areas.
The new cases are located in the Saskatoon (one), Regina (three) and South Central (one) zones. The province now has 165 active cases.
As of Monday, 13 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 are in hospital. Eight are receiving inpatient care and five are in intensive care. One person in intensive care is in the North Central region.
According to the New and Active Cases by Health Zone breakdown, Prince Albert—the North Central 2 zone—still has no active cases.
North Central 1, which includes communities such as Christopher Lake, Candle Lake and Meath Park, remains steady at four active cases.
North Central 3, consisting of communities south of the city such as Duck Lake, Hague, Rosthern and St. Louis, has no active cases.
The Regina zone currently has the highest number of active cases, sitting at 30. The Saskatoon zone has 13.
The South Central 1 zone (Herbert, Morse, Gravelbourg, Assiniboia, etc.) has 25 active cases as of Friday, with the South West 1 zone (Maple Creek, Gull Lake, etc.) at 18 and the North East 2 zone (Melfort, Kinistino, Weldon, etc.) at 12.
Saskatchewan has had 1,450 reported cases since the beginning of the pandemic and 1,265 recoveries. Twenty people with COVID-19 have passed away.
So far, 113,045 COVID-19 tests have been performed in Saskatchewan. There were 1,297 tests performed in the province on Sunday.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has issued a number of advisories for Regina and Saskatoon businesses regarding possible transmission of COVID-19. Details can be found at https://www.saskhealthauthority.ca/.
Province provides update on outbreak at Regina business
On Monday afternoon, the SHA shared more information related to COVID-19 cases identified at the K-Bro Linens facility in Regina.
As of Sunday, there have been 18 employees of K-Bro Linens who have tested positive for COVID-19.
“Of the 11 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Regina on Saturday, August 8, all were either K-Bro employees or close contacts of the employees. Some of these cases were identified following a call to Healthline 811, but most were identified through contact tracing,” the release stated.
According to the release, all employees who tested positive for COVID-19, and anyone who was in close contact with those employees, are now self-isolating.
There were 119 tests performed on-site at K-Bro Linens, and more tests were conducted at testing sites following a Healthline 811 referral.
“The risk of community transmission is low. A Public Service Announcement will be issued if there is a need to alert the public to specific locations of concern,” the release stated.
They explained that employees of K-Bro Linens wear personal protective equipment, frequently wash their hands, stagger breaks and start/end times, maintain physical distancing between workstations and screen all employees before they enter the facility, which includes performing temperature checks.
“As well, a microbiologist has assessed K-Bro processes to ensure linens remain safe for use in health care facilities. The assessment determined there is no safety concern for processed linen.”
All 150 employees of K-Bro Linens have been tested.
— with files from Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince Albert Daily Herald
