The province has begun tracking and reporting testing numbers and cases for children and youth aged 0-19.
The data is broken down into the 32 sub-zones so that the public can identify areas where virus activity might be present. The announcement was part of Thursday’s COVID-19 daily update. While information is not school-specific, schools with a declared outbreak will be posted online. The data regarding positive tests in children and youth will be updated each Thursday.
The news comes as more positive tests come to light in Saskatoon schools. Three Catholic high schools and a few public schools have had isolated positive COVID-19 tests.
According to the latest data regarding COVID-19 positive tests in children and youth, Saskatoon has detected the largest number of active cases with nine.
There are no detected active cases in children or youth in the North Central Zone, which includes Prince Albert.
Also Thursday, the province announced that the organizers of a large social gathering in a Saskatoon private household have been fined $2,000. About 47 people attended, which has led to 21 identified cases of COVID-19.
The gathering size limit in Saskatchewan is 30 people in most situations.
“In Saskatchewan and across the country, public health authorities are seeing increasing transmission rates as a result of public and private gatherings that are in contravention of public health orders and guidelines,” the province wrote in a press release.
“Public health orders in Saskatchewan specify that indoor and outdoor gatherings may have a maximum of 30 people, provided there is enough space to maintain a two-metre separation between individuals who are not in the same household. Gathering sizes should be smaller if there isn’t enough space to maintain a physical distance of two metres at all times.”
Punishment for not following public health orders include fines of up to $2,000 for individuals and $10,000 for corporations plus a victim surcharge.
The province reported seven new cases of COVID-19 Thursday. Four of the new cases were located in Saskatoon, which the rest in the southern part of the province.
There are 109 active, known cases in the province, and 1,757 in total. So far, 1,624 have recovered.
One case previously identified as having a pending residence was removed from Saskatchewan’s total as it was determined they don’t live in the province.
Of the current 109 active detected cases, 29 are from communal living settings.
The seven new cases and four recoveries reported Thursday follow ten new cases and four more recoveries reported the day prior.
There are five people receiving inpatient care in Saskatoon. There is no one with a COVID-19 diagnosis currently in intensive care.
There were 1,515 COVID-19 tests performed in Saskatchewan on Wednesday. Of those, 75 were from the North Central Zone, which includes Prince Albert, an increase of 19 from the day prior.
Saskatoon and Regina, which have drive-thru testing, are leading the increase in test numbers with a few hundred conducted in each city per day.
