There are 48 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on Oct. 12, bringing the total to 2,140 cases. The new cases are located in the Far Northwest(1), Northwest (3), North Central (19), Northeast(1), Saskatoon (13), Central West(1), Central East(3), Southwest(1), Southeast (1), and Regina (5) zones.
Public health investigations are underway to understand the source of exposure for today’s new cases. Yesterday it was reported that at least 12 northern cases had links to the Gospel Outreach outbreak in Prince Albert and it is anticipated that several of the positive cases reported today will also have a connection. There is also an increase in cases throughout Saskatchewan with cases linked to public and private social gatherings in the home and other venues.
Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab continues to call for vigilance and extreme caution for any social gathering in your home that includes anyone outside your extended household. He is also strongly recommending masks be worn in all indoor public locations where physical distancing of two metres is not possible or predictable. Above all, stay home if sick.
Of the 2,140 reported cases, 215 are considered active. A total of 1,900 people have recovered, including 12 more recoveries as of Oct. 12.
Eight people are in hospital. Seven people are receiving inpatient care, five in Saskatoon and two in Regina, with one person in intensive care in Regina.
Of the 2,140 cases in the province to date, 314 cases are travellers; 1,061 are community contacts (including mass gatherings); 603 have no known exposures; 162 are under investigation by local public health, and 78 cases are healthcare workers; however, the source of the infections may not be related to healthcare in all instances.
By age category, 366 cases involve people 19 years of age and under; 717 cases are in the 20-39 age range; 645 are in the 40-59 age range; 342 are in the 60-79 age range; and 70 are in the 80-plus range.
About 51 per cent of the cases are females and 49 per cent are males. Twenty-five deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported to date.
There are 465 cases are from the south area (226 southwest, 207 south central, 32 southeast); 442 cases are from the Saskatoon area; 375 cases are from the far north area (356 far northwest, 0 far north central, 19 far northeast); 329 cases are from the north area (140 northwest, 118 north central, 71 northeast); 310 cases are from the central area (183 central west, 127 central east), and 219 cases are from the Regina area.
To date, 217,606 COVID-19 tests have been performed in Saskatchewan. As of Oct. 8, when other provincial and national numbers are available from Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 147,073 people tested per million population. The national rate was 214,103 people tested per million population. No update is available from Oct. 9 and 10.
A total of 3,237 COVID-19 tests were performed in Saskatchewan on Oct. 11, the highest daily number of tests reported to date.
Failure to Abide by Public Health Orders May Result in Fines
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 in cases where negligence or misconduct have been found. Fines may be $2,000 for individuals and $10,000 for corporations, plus a victim surcharge.
