Seventeen new confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been detected in Saskatchewan, bringing the total to 44.
Twenty-five of those are confirmed and 19 presumptive. Yesterday, March 20, the number was 26.
All of the cases were 20 years of age and older with the exception of one case, which is still under investigation. The largest percentage of these cases are male at 65 per cent, while females make up 35 per cent.
There are now four presumptive cases in Central Saskatchewan, excluding Saskatoon. Northern Saskatchewan has one confirmed and one presumptive case.
The province said in a media release the Roy Romanow Provincial Laboratory (RRPL) now has the ability to do confirmatory testing for COVID-19. As a result, all of the new cases reported today have already been confirmed and the province will no longer be reporting on presumptive cases.
The new testing capability will also speed up the dissemination of results to physicians and individuals tested. The province is still waiting one results on some of the earlier presumptive positive cases from the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.
Regardless of whether a case is confirmed positive, all presumptive cases must remain in self-isolation.
The RRPL is processing about 456 COVID-19 tests a day.
