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Saskatchewan is closing in on half a million COVID-19 vaccinations.
In its daily COVID-19 update Friday, the Ministry of Health said 10,530 doses of vaccine had been administered in the latest reporting period. That pushed the total number of vaccinations done in Saskatchewan to date to 491,440.
The percentage of Saskatchewan residents aged 40 and over who have received their first dose increased to 69, one short of the requirement set out by the provincial government in its Re-Opening Roadmap for its first phase.
Step One of the plan is to start three weeks after 70 per cent of people in that age group have got their first shot and once vaccine eligibility has opened to all adults aged 18 and older across the province.
The ministry also reported 295 new cases, 237 recoveries and one death. There also were 210 new cases of variants of concern identified by screening in the province.
Vaccination update
The latest vaccinations were done in the Regina (3,536), Saskatoon (2,462), north-central (800), northwest (787), southeast (618), central-east (457), south-central (404), northeast (323), central-west (323), far northeast (231), far northwest (170), southwest (43) and far north-central (two) zones.
There also were 374 shots given to people whose zone of residence is pending.
The province reported a shipment of 31,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine has arrived. It’s being delivered to clinics, First Nations and participating pharmacies across the province.
A look at the numbers
The Saskatoon region reported the largest jump in infections Friday, with 98. Other new cases were reported in the Regina (68), northwest (33), southeast (32), north-central (17), central-east (10), northeast (nine), southwest (nine), south-central (seven), far northeast (five), far northwest (two) and central-west (one) zones.
The hometowns of four new cases are still being determined.
Twenty-six cases that were tested out of province have been added to the province’s total, which now stands at 42,695.
The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases is 221, or 18.0 per 100,000 population.
The latest death due to the virus was a person in their 70s from the southwest zone. The death toll in Saskatchewan due to the virus is 502.
To date, there have been 39,954 recoveries reported. As of Friday, 2,239 cases were considered active.
As of Thursday, 7,905 variants of concern had been identified by screening in the province. The Regina region had reported the most, with 4,119.
Of the 3,031 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 2,986 are the United Kingdom variant, 36 are the Brazilian strain and nine are the South African mutation.
The 3,652 COVID tests done in Saskatchewan on Thursday hiked the total to date to 793,271.
The 174 hospitalizations in the province due to COVID include 38 intensive care cases. Those people are in the Regina (20), Saskatoon (12), central-east (three), north-central (two) and south-central (one) regions.
The lower case numbers in Regina of late prompted the Saskatchewan Health Authority to ease family presence restrictions at the General and Pasqua hospitals starting Monday.
All patients can designate one essential family member or support person to provide in-person aid. More than one person can be designated in critical care or intensive care units, end-of-life/palliative care, or maternal, postpartum or pediatric units.
Those who visit have to undergo a health screening prior to entering the hospital, including a temperature check and questionnaire. They’ll also have to perform hand hygiene and must wear a medical grade mask and additional personal protective equipment if required.