Death reported in North Central for second straight day
Saskatchewan health officials reported eight new deaths related to COVID-19 on Tuesday, including one in North Central and two in the North West.
A patient in their 60s died in North Central after testing positive for the virus, while one patients in the 60 to 69 age group and another in the 80 plus age group died in the adjacent North West.
There were two deaths reported in the South West zone while single deaths were reported in the Saskatoon, Regina and South East regions. There have now been 793 deaths related to COVID-19 reported in the province.
Health officials also reported 32 new cases of COVID-19 in North Central on Tuesday. This was among 271 total cases in the province. The Saskatoon zone led the province with 82 new cases.
Saskatchewan has 3,434 active COVID-19 cases, with 74,940 total cases reported to date.
North Central 2, which is Prince Albert, has 112 active cases. North Central 1, which includes communities such as Christopher Lake, Candle Lake and Meath Park, has 146 active cases and North Central 3 has 98 active cases. Two cases with pending location were added to North Central on Tuesday.
According to the province, there were 71 cases reported in the 0 to 11 age group Tuesday and 22 in the 12 to 19 age group, 19 of which were not vaccinated.
Roughly 28.4 per cent of new cases are in the 20 to 39 age category. Roughly 27 per cent of new cases among eligible patients reported full vaccination status.
There are currently 335 COVID-19 patients in hospital across the province, 254 of which are not fully vaccinated, with 252 receiving inpatient care and 83 in the ICU. North Central has 23 patients in hospital.
The province also reported one ICU patient has been transferred to Ontario.
The current seven-day average for new cases is 319, or 26.5 cases per 100,000 population.
Another 645 recoveries were reported on Tuesday, bringing the total number of recoveries to 70,713.
Since the start of the pandemic, 118,366 cases are from the North area (8,138 North West, 7,518 North Central and2,710 North East).
There were 1,188 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on Monday. As of Oct. 19, there have been 1,197,080 COVID-19 tests performed in Saskatchewan.
There were 2,100 doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered in Saskatchewan bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 1,626,382.
There were 111 doses administered in the North Central Zone reported on Tuesday.
According to the province 52,417 people in North Central are fully vaccinated.
Province expands COVID-19 booster dose availability
The province also announced on Tuesday that starting Oct. 25, the COVID-19 vaccination booster program will be expanded.
COVID-19 boosters will be administered at least six months after the second dose was received for a number of groups including individuals aged 65 years and older.
Other groups include individuals living in the Far North and those living on First Nation communities, aged 50 years and older, health care workers, who will be asked to present a copy of their license from their professional licensing body or a workplace pay stub at the point of immunization. Saskatchewan Health Authority staff will be required to present their staff identification.
Also included are Individuals born in 2009 or earlier with underlying health conditions that are clinically extremely vulnerable including people with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) , people with rare diseases that significantly increase the risk of infections, such as homozygous sickle cell disease people who had their spleen removed, adults with very significant developmental disabilities that increase risk, such as Down’s Syndrome, adults on dialysis or with chronic kidney disease (stage 5) and significant neuromuscular conditions requiring respiratory support ,
Those with the above underlying medical conditions, the Ministry of Health will be providing a letter to your physician or
nurse practitioner for presentation at the point of immunization.
Immunization record will be confirmed at the clinic or pharmacy location to ensure that it has been at least six months since your last COVID-19 vaccination.
“It is recommended that if you received two doses of a mRNA vaccine, your booster dose should be the same vaccine type. If you received two different vaccine types, your third dose should be the matching mRNA vaccine — a full dose of the type of vaccine an individual received for their second dose will be given as a booster dose. If you received two doses of Astra Zeneca, it is recommended that you receive an mRNA vaccine booster immunization,” the release stated.
“If you have already received a third dose for travel or in a long-term care or personal-care home setting, you do not require a fourth dose. The third dose already received provides the necessary increased protection; you do not need any further doses at this time.”
The eligible populations will be able to start booking their third doses online through the SHA Online Booking System, receiving the vaccine at clinics or through a pharmacy as of Oct. 25.
These eligible groups will not be added to the online registration system, or be able to book an appointment at a clinic or pharmacy until that date.
Additional populations eligible for booster vaccinations will be announced in the coming weeks, once the populations announced today have received their third doses.
