Saskatchewan health officials reported one death related to COVID-19 on Friday.
A patient in their 60s from the Saskatoon Zone died after testing positive for the virus. The number of deaths in the province now stands at 467.
There were 12 new cases of COVID-19 reported in North Central, which includes Prince Albert, on Friday. This was among a total of 254 cases reported in the province on Thursday. Regina led the province with 112 new cases reported.
North Central 2, which is Prince Albert, has 34 active cases. North Central 1, which includes communities such as Christopher Lake, Candle Lake and Meath Park, has 20 active cases and North Central 3 has 26 active cases.
There are currently 193 COVID-19 patients in hospital across the province. Of the 156 reported as receiving in patient care, two in North Central. Of the 37 people reported as being in intensive care, two in North Central.
The current seven-day average for new cases is 212, or 17.3 cases per 100,000 population. Of the 34,043 reported COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan, 2,053 are considered active. Another 150 recoveries were reported on Friday, bringing the total number of recoveries to 31,554.
Since the start of the pandemic, 8,139 cases have been reported in the North area (3,289 North West, 3,519 North Central and 1,331 North East).
There were 4,780 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on April 1, a new single day high.
As of today there have been 674,211 COVID-19 tests performed in Saskatchewan.
There were 8,109 doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered yesterday in Saskatchewan bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 208,742.
There were 500 doses administered in the North Central Zone reported on Thursday. Doses were also administered in the adjacent North East, North West, Far North East, Far North West, Central West, Central East, Central West, South East, South West, Saskatoon and Regina.
The COVID-19 vaccine appointment booking system has now opened up to include residents 58 years of age and older. Eligible residents are encouraged to book their COVID-19 vaccinations and can do so online or by phone.
According to the province, one fifth of Saskatchewan residents in their 80s have now received their second dose of vaccine and are fully vaccinated. Those numbers are accurate as of April 2.
12 more variants of concern identified in North Central
There were 12 confirmed variants of concern (VOC) cases identified by the province in the North Central zone, which includes Prince Albert, on April 1. This follows four identified March 29, six identified March 30 and nine identified March 31.
This was among 1,951 variants of concern identified by screening in Saskatchewan. Other regions with identified cases included Regina, Saskatoon, Far North East, Central West, Central East, South West, South Central and South East. There are currently 123 cases with area of residency pending.
Regina led the province with 1,419 identified VOCs.
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 61 new lineage results reported today. Of the 949 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 941 are B1.1.1.7 (UK) and eight are B1.351 (SA).
The Regina zone accounts for 802 (85 per cent) of the VOC cases with confirmed lineage reported in Saskatchewan.
