For the third consecutive day the province reported over 20 COVID-19 cases with 24 cases reported on Saturday. This follows 34 cases reported yesterday and 22 on Friday.
The new cases were again spread throughout the province with 11 in the Regina zone, five in North Central, three in the North West, two in the Far North East and single cases in the South East, Saskatoon and Far North West zones.
Increasing case numbers and a rise in community transmission have sparked a call from Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer for renewed vigilance and increased caution. Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab is reiterating the strong recommendation that masks be worn in all indoor public locations where people outside of your immediate or extended household are present and physical distancing is not possible or is unpredictable.
“The power to prevent COVID-19 transmission rests with every resident of Saskatchewan,” Shahab said.
“The best practices we recommend proved effective as we flattened the curve in the first weeks of the pandemic. Stay home if you experience even mild symptoms. Maintain physical distancing of two metres. Wear a mask when you may be unable to maintain this distance, particularly in indoor spaces, or as required in workplaces or schools. We are now more than seven months into this pandemic event. All residents should be familiar with these practices and all residents need to follow them at all times.”
Initial public health investigations have linked 12 of today’s new cases to the Gospel Outreach outbreak in Prince Albert.
The majority of the new Regina cases appear to be linked to a single apartment complex; residents and management have been advised on precautions to take.
Of the 2,092 reported COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan, 179 are considered active, which is an increase of 18 from Saturday.
The recovered number now sits at 1,888 after five more recoveries were reported.
According to Sunday’s release, another person has died from COVID-19, which now puts the number of deaths at 25.
According to the new and Active Case breakdown the North Central Zone, which includes Prince Albert and area, has 10 active cases in North Central 2. North Central 1, which includes communities such as Christopher Lake, Candle Lake and Meath Park, has nine active cases and North Central 3 has two active case. The recent spike in the North Central zone has raised the active number to 21 in the zone.
The most active cases are 46 in the Central East, which includes Yorkton. The second highest active cases are 33 in Saskatoon, Regina is third with 32 active cases.
There are currently three people receiving inpatient care in Saskatoon, as well as one in Regina. Two people are listed in intensive care, one in Regina and one in Saskatoon.
The total number of cases is 2,092. Of those 463 cases are from the south area (225 south west, 207 south central and 31 south east), 429 cases are from the Saskatoon area, 374 cases are from the far north area (355 far north west, zero in far north central and 19 far north east), 306 cases are from the central area (182 central west, 124 central east), 306 cases are from the north area (137 north west, 99 north central, 70 north east) and 214 cases are from the Regina area
There are currently 77 cases that are health care workers; however, the source of the infections is not related to their work environments in all instances.
Of the 2,092 cases in the province: 312 cases are related to travel, 1,036 are community contacts, which includes mass gatherings, 599 have no known exposures and 145 are under investigation by local public health.
The age breakdown shows 358 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, 700 cases are in the 20-39-age range, 632 are in the 40-59-age range, 334 are in the 60-79-age range and 68 are in the 80-plus-age range.
The gender breakdown shows 51 per cent of the cases being females and 49 per cent being males.
Yesterday, 3,049 COVID-19 tests were performed in Saskatchewan. As of today there have been 214,369 COVID-19 tests have been performed in Saskatchewan.
SHA warns that failure to abide by Public Health Orders may result in fines
On Sunday the province again reminded people that in Saskatchewan and across the country, public health authorities are seeing increasing transmission rates as a result of contravention of public health orders and guidelines, particularly as a result of public and private gatherings.
There can be very serious consequences for not following Public Health Orders, including fines. Fines may be $2,000 for individuals and $10,000 for corporations, plus a victim surcharge.
As a number of contact investigations conclude, it is anticipated that fines will be issued in cases where negligence and misconduct have been found.
