Health officials reported 735 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, an increase of 146 over the day before.

Roughly 300 of those new cases were reported as Omicron probable cases, but none have been confirmed. There are 1,355 probable Omicron cases active in the province. Every zone has at least one probable Omicron case except for the Far North.

The Saskatoon Zone reported the highest number of new COVID-19 cases with 286, followed by the Regina Zone with 180, and the South East Zone with 58.

Saskatchewan’s total number of active cases has now risen to 2,844, the highest total since Oct. 24. The province also reported 74 recoveries and no deaths.

North Central reported 23 new COVID-19 cases and no recoveries on Friday. One new case that was announced without residency information on Dec. 29 was also added to the region’s total. There are now 91 active cases in the region.

Prince Albert reported 14 new cases, while Zone 1 reported three and Zone 3 reported six. There are now 54 active cases in Prince Albert, 21 in Zone 1, and 16 in Zone 3.

The North East Zone, which includes Melfort, Tisdale and Nipawin, reported seven new cases and two recoveries. There are now 24 active cases in the region.

The Far North West Zone reported nine new cases and no recoveries, bringing their active case total to 17.

The Far North East Zone reported no new cases or recoveries. However, their active case total increased to 28 due to six cases that were added after being announced on Dec. 29 without residency information.

Far North Central continues to have no active cases.

The number of Saskatchewan patients in hospital with COVID-19 remains unchanged at 79. That includes 12 patients who are in the ICU. Roughly 60.8 per cent of all hospitalized patients were not fully vaccinated.

North Central has eight COVID-19 patients in hospital. None of them are in the ICU.