A woman washes her hands at a grocery store cleaning station in late 2020. (paNOW Staff)

By paNOW Staff

COVID Update

Province reports 168 new cases of COVID-19 and two deaths

Mar 25, 2021 | 3:35 PM

The Government of Saskatchewan is reporting 168 new cases and two new deaths in the province. There were also 105 new recoveries.

Vaccines Reported

An additional 4,247 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 155,754.

The 4,247 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered in the following regions: Far North West (170), North Central (18), North East (633), Saskatoon (1,289), Central West (340), Central East (40), South Central (157), South East (182) and Regina (1,418).

Latest numbers on vaccines administered. (Government of Saskatchewan)

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The appointment booking system has expanded to include residents 62 years and older. These residents are encouraged to book their COVID-19 vaccination and can do so online or by phone. Additional information on eligibility and how to book your appointment is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-booking.

More than two-thirds of Saskatchewan residents age 80 and over and 30 per cent of Saskatchewan residents in their 70s have now received their first dose.

*An individual may be counted in more than one category (e.g., an 85 year-old LTC resident will be counted in the LTC resident category, the 70+ category and the 80+ category). Effective March 5, Saskatchewan implemented the delayed second dose policy. This does not apply to residents of LTC and PCH and those priority Phase 1 individuals who had scheduled appointments to receive their second dose. All populations receiving vaccinations after March 5 will receive their second dose after all Saskatchewan adults have been offered their first dose.

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

Daily COVID-19 Statistics

There are 168 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on March 25, bringing the provincial total to 32,346 cases.

Two Saskatchewan residents who tested positive for COVID-19 have died. The deaths were reported in the 40 to 49 age group from the North Central zone and the 70 to 79 age group from the Central East zone.

The new cases located in northern Saskatchewan are in the Far North West (two), Far North East (three), North West (three), North Central (two), and North East (one). Five new cases are pending residence information. Eight cases with pending residence have been assigned to the following zones: Far North West (one), North Central (two), North West (two), Regina (one), South Central (one), and South East (one). Three duplicate cases have been removed from the Far North East (one), North West (one) and Saskatoon (one) zones.

The latest number of cases in Saskatchewan. (Government of Saskatchewan)

There are a total of 30,301 recoveries and 1,623 cases are considered active.

One hundred fifty-four (154) people are in hospital. One hundred and thirty-two (132) people are receiving inpatient care: Far North West (one), Far North East (one), North West (five), North Central (five), North East (one), Saskatoon (41), Central East (eight), Regina (56), South West (two), South Central (three) and South East (nine). Twenty-two (22) people are in intensive care: Saskatoon (six), Central East (two), South Central (two) and Regina (12).

A chart representing the most recent figures of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the province. (Government of Saskatchewan)

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 181 (14.7 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 3,370 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on March 24, 2021.

To date, 643,629 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of March 23, 2021, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 539,221 tests performed per million population. The national rate was 706,705 tests performed per million population.

As of March 24, 1064 variants of concern (VOC) have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the Far North East (one), North Central (one), Saskatoon (18), Central East (20), Regina (895), South Central (63) and South East (66) 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 are 118 new lineage results reported today. Of the 478 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 470 are B1.1.1.7 (UK) and eight are B1.351 (SA). The Regina zone accounts for 400 (or 84 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, 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.

COVID-19 map. (Government of Saskatchewan)

NITHA Data

As of March 24, there are 36 active cases of COVID-19 in NITHA communities.

These cases are located in the Far North Central, Athabasca (one), Far North West (three), Far North East (18), North Central (four), and North East (10).

There are 3,272 cases (98 per cent) recovered, and one person is currently in hospital.

As of March 24, there are 36 active cases of COVID-19 in NITHA communities. (NITHA Saskatchewan/Facebook)

New Public Health Measures for Regina and Area

Due to increased COVID-19 transmission risk in Regina and area, the Chief Medical Health Officer announced amendments to the public health order. The new orders announced on Tuesday, March 24 will remain in effect until April 5, 2021 and reviewed at that time.

The following revisions to the public health order are effective immediately: restricting private indoor gatherings to immediate household members only; limiting non-essential travel to Regina and area; and working from home when possible.

Effective 12:01 am, Sunday March 28, all restaurants and licensed establishments must close for in-person dining. Take-out and delivery is permitted. Event venues including banquet and community halls, conference facilities, arts venues, museums, libraries, live theatre, cinemas, arcades, bowling and science centres, or any non-essential indoor locations that had limits of 30 individuals are not permitted to operate at this time.

Places of worship in the Regina may continue at the current capacity level, which is a maximum of 30 individuals.

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

Weekly Reporting of Testing Numbers and Cases for Youth

The trends of COVID-19 cases in school-aged children are being monitored. The weekly report of cases and testing numbers for children aged 0-19, including data by age and positivity rates, has been posted at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19-Safe-Schools-Plan.

Enforcing Public Health Measures

Enforcement of public health orders is permitted under The Public Health Act, 1994. Public health inspectors and other enforcement officers will be supported in their efforts to ticket violators to ensure that businesses and events are brought into compliance as quickly as possible, in addition to the enforcement efforts that have been undertaken by police agencies throughout the province.

For more information on the current public health measures or to see the Public Health Order, visit www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-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.

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panews@jpbg.ca

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