Canadian Press

By paNOW Staff

COVID Update

191 cases, two deaths, and 176 recoveries reported in Saskatchewan

Mar 31, 2021 | 2:29 PM

The province reported another 191 new cases of COVID-19 and 176 recoveries in Saskatchewan on March 31, bringing the provincial total to 33,590 cases. Prince Albert and North Battleford are among other Saskatchewan communities who received a shipment of Pfizer vaccines yesterday.

Two Saskatchewan residents who tested positive for COVID-19 have died. The deaths were reported in the 70-79 age group from the Regina zone and 80+ age group from the South West zone.

As of March 31, 191 new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in the province. (Government of Saskatchewan)

The new cases in northern Saskatchewan are located in the Far North East (one), North West (three), North Central (five), and North East (three) zones. There are five cases with pending residence information. Four cases with pending residence information have been assigned to the North West (two) and North Central (two) zones.

One hundred sixty (166) people are in hospital. One hundred and forty-three (143) people are receiving inpatient care: Far North East (one), North West (four), North Central (six), Saskatoon (38), Central East (10), Regina (74), South West (one), South Central (two) and South East (seven). Twenty-three (23) people are in intensive care: North Central (two), Saskatoon (five), Central East (one) and Regina (15).

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As of March 31, 166 people across the province are being hospitalized in relation to COVID-19. (Government of Saskatchewan)

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 201 (16.4 new cases per 100,000). A chart comparing today’s average to data collected over the past several months is available on the Government of Saskatchewan website. Please visit https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness/covid-19/seven-day-average-of-new-covid-cases.

There were 2,978 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on March 30.

To date, 665,449 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of March 29, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 558,467 tests performed per million population. The national rate was 724,908 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. Testing information is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/testing-information.

As of March 30, 1,673 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the Far North East (one), North Central (six), Saskatoon (46), Central West (five), Central East (26), Regina (1,348), South West (one), South Central (128) and South East (109) zones. The 28 new VOCs reported in the Saskatoon zone are results from VOC screening positives COVID-19 cases tested between March 24 and 29.

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.

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 412 (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.

NITHA Data

As of March 30, there are 43 active cases of COVID-19 in NITHA communities.

These cases are located in the Far North Central, Athabasca (0), Far North West (four), Far North East (20), North Central (three), and North East (16). There are 3,296 cases (98 per cent) recovered.

There are currently 43 active cases of COVID-19 in NITHA communities. (NITHA/Facebook)

All Public Health Measures Extended to April 12

The provincial public health orders announced Tuesday, March 9 and the Regina and area revisions announced Tuesday, March 24 have been extended to April 12 and will be reviewed at that time.

Due to increased COVID-19 transmission risk in Regina and area, revisions were made March 24 including: restricting private indoor gatherings to immediate household members only; all restaurants and licensed establishments must close for in-person dining; and most event venues supporting 30 persons or less are not permitted to operate.

Travel is also not recommended in or out of the Regina area unless absolutely necessary. It is strongly recommended that all individuals in the Regina area able to work from home do so.

Full details on current public health measures can be found at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-measures.

Vaccines Reported

An additional 8,491 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 192,927.

The 8,491 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered in the following regions: Far North West (295), Far North Central (two), Far North East (610), North Central (141), North East (509), Saskatoon (2,080), Central West (1,135), Central East (751), Regina (1,201), South Central (1,144) and South East (623).

There have been 192,927 vaccines administered across the province with 8,491 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported on March 31. (Government of Saskatchewan)

The COVID-19 vaccine booking system has been expanded to include residents 60 years of age and older. Eligible 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.

One fifth of Saskatchewan residents in their 80s have now received their second dose of vaccine and are fully vaccinated:

For a listing of first and second doses in Saskatchewan administered by geographic zone, visit https://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-update.

Pfizer shipments were received yesterday for Regina (14,040 doses), Saskatoon (15,210 doses), North Battleford (2,340 doses), Prince Albert (3,510 doses), and Yorkton (1,170 doses) Moderna has confirmed 855,600 doses for Canada the week of April 5. Saskatchewan shipments will include the remaining deliveries from the previous week.

Keep Easter Celebrations Safe

All Saskatchewan residents are asked to keep their Easter weekend safe and abide by the public health recommendations and measures in place. Consider making gatherings virtual and keep your Easter egg hunt to your immediate household only.

• With the exception of the Regina region, private indoor gatherings must be from two to three consistent households and cannot exceed 10 people.
• For the city of Regina and area, all indoor private gatherings are limited to immediate households only with individuals who live alone and single parents of minor children permitted to meet with one consistent household of less than five individuals at this time.
• If you are outside the Regina area and have a consistent household bubble gathering safely, purchase your Easter dinner groceries ahead of time with only one member of the household shopping. One person should handle the preparation of food and drink following proper food safety protocols and while wearing a non-medical mask. All served food should be plated by a single person or consider having individual portions delivered from a restaurant or caterer.
• If anyone in the household feels unwell, even with the most mild symptoms, do not continue with plans and seek COVID-19 testing immediately.
• Travel is not recommended in or out of the Regina area unless absolutely necessary and non-essential travel, including interprovincial travel, is strongly discouraged.
• Places of worship must follow the current guidelines, available at www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/public-health-measures

General COVID-19 Information

General public inquiries may be directed to COVID19@health.gov.sk.ca.

Know your risk. Keep yourself and others safe. www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/about-covid-19/know-your-risk.