There are 202 new cases of COVID-19 and 174 recoveries to report in Saskatchewan on March 29, bringing the provincial total to 33,233 cases.
South East region reported 16 new cases. One of the new cases is in South East Zone 4, which includes Estevan. Two cases are in South East Zone 1, which is the northwest corner of the South East Region. The other 13 are in South East Zone 2, which is north of Zone 4. The Saskatchewan Health Authority issued an advisory on Monday regarding an increased COVID risk in Whitewood.
There are 37 active cases in Zone 4, and 146 in the South East region.
The other new cases in Saskatchewan are located in the Far North West (2), Far North East (6), North West (9), North Central (10), North East (11), Saskatoon (22), Central West (4), Central East (6), Regina (101), South West (1) and South Central (10) zones. There are four (4) cases with pending residence information.
Another 174 people have recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 30,822. Eleven recoveries are from the South East.
A total of 1,978 cases are considered active.
One hundred sixty-two people are in hospital. One hundred and thirty-seven (137) people are receiving inpatient care: Far North East (1), North West (6), North Central (9), North East (1), Saskatoon (38), Central East (9), Regina (62), South West (1), South Central (1) and South East (9). The number of people in hospital in the South East is up one from March 27. Twenty-five people are in intensive care: North West (1), North Central (1), Saskatoon (6), Central East (2) and Regina (15).
The seven-day average of daily new cases is 199.3 (16.3 new cases per 100,000).
There were 3,067 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on March 28, including 270 in the South East.
To date, 659,170 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of March 27, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan's per capita rate was 552,686 tests performed per million population. The national rate was 719,541 tests performed per million population.
Please note: Variants of concern (VOC) are beginning to rise across southern Saskatchewan, particularly in the Moose Jaw area. Moose Jaw residents are urged to adherence to best personal protective measures.
- Wear your mask in all public places including all workplaces
- Wash non-medical masks daily
- Maintain physical distancing
- Wash your hands frequently
- Reduce activities outside of your home. Order take-out or curbside pick-up. If you are able to work from home, work from home at this time.
- Avoid all unnecessary travel to and from Moose Jaw
If you have any symptoms, stay home and arrange for a COVID-19 test. If anyone in your home has symptoms, the entire household should remain home until the test results are known.
As of March 28, 1,474 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the Far North East (1), Saskatoon (17), Central West (2), Central East (25), Regina (1,222), South Central (109) and South East (98) zones. These have previously been reported as "presumptive positives" but all screening tests will be considered confirmed VOCs for the purposes of public reporting and contact investigations.
There is one new lineage result being reported today. Of the 495 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 487 are B1.1.1.7 (UK) and eight are B1.351 (SA). The Regina zone accounts for 410 (or 83 per cent) of the VOC cases with confirmed lineage reported in Saskatchewan. Please note that these VOC may have been initially identified via means other than screening (i.e. selection for whole genome sequencing without screening) and that whole genome sequencing results to identify lineage are included in the screening results.
Confirmed variant of concern cases may appear in both columns on the website, depending on testing for that case. Adding the cases identified by screening and those that have received whole genome sequencing may result in double-counting individual cases.
Further statistics on the total number of cases among healthcare workers, breakdowns of total cases by source of infection, age, sex and region, total tests to date, the per capita testing rate and current numbers of confirmed variants of concern can be found on the Government of Saskatchewan website. Please visit http://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-cases.
Vaccination update
An additional 6,104 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 179,800.
The 6,104 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered in the following regions: Saskatoon (2,270), Central East (583), Regina (1,280) and South Central (1,971).
The appointment booking system is currently available to residents 62 years and older. These residents are encouraged to book their COVID-19 vaccinations and can do so online or by phone. Additional information on how to book your appointment is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-booking.
The number of Saskatchewan residents in their 80s who have now received their second dose of vaccine has reached the 10,000 mark. More than two-thirds of personal care home (PCH) residents in Saskatchewan have received their second dose of vaccine and are fully vaccinated.
A shipment of 46,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from the United States is expected to arrive in Saskatchewan this week.
Today, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization issued updated guidelines on the use of AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD in Canada, recommending that use for populations under 55 be paused, pending further review of vaccine safety. Saskatchewan will be following this recommendation.
The primary use of AstraZeneca in Saskatchewan to date was at the drive thru clinic in Regina, with more than 15,000 doses available to residents 58 years and older. Some residents younger than 55 would have received AstraZeneca including eligible health care workers and vaccinators though no thrombosis-like adverse events have been reported in Saskatchewan to date.
While there remains fewer than 100 doses of AstraZeneca in the province right now, additional shipments are expected. The Saskatchewan Health Authority is examining the potential impacts to vaccine roll-out plans now and will have an update in the coming days.
A shipment of Moderna vaccine that was expected on March 30 has been delayed due to ongoing quality assurance processes. PHAC expects this shipment will be available for pick up from the manufacturer on April 1 for distribution in Canada. A delivery date to Saskatchewan is not yet known.
