COVID-related deaths, hospitalizations continue to drop in Saskatchewan

The number of COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations and outbreaks at long-term care homes in Saskatchewan all declined during the last full week of May, according to the latest update from the Ministry of Health.

A look at the numbers

During the period from May 22 until Saturday, Saskatchewan recorded 364 new lab-confirmed cases of the virus.

While that figure does not include results from rapid tests, it does represent a decline from the 376 lab-confirmed cases reported the previous week.

The hotspot was the Saskatoon region, which saw 109 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases between May 22 and Saturday. Seventy-three newly confirmed cases were from the north region, 67 were from the Regina region, 50 were from the central region, 34 were from the south, and the locations of 13 were still pending.

Only 5.3 per cent of lab tests returned a positive result in the last reporting period, a drop from 5.5 per cent the week before. Tests for other respiratory viruses returned positive results at higher rates, the ministry noted, including influenza.

Other metrics also declined during the most recent reporting period, including deaths. Nine people died from COVID-19 in Saskatchewan between May 22 and Saturday, while 12 deaths were reported the previous week.

Long-term care home outbreaks also dropped, with three reported in the last period compared to five in the week prior.

Hospitalization numbers were down significantly in the latest report.

As of Wednesday, 68 people were hospitalized due to a COVID-related illness, a drop from 90 on May 25. In total, Saskatchewan had 232 hospital patients with COVID as of Wednesday compared to 258 a week before.

Vaccination update

While other metrics improved during the last reporting period, vaccination numbers did not change significantly.

As of Saturday, 85.9 per cent of all residents aged five and older have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, and 81 per cent of the same age group are fully vaccinated. Those figures were unchanged from the last reporting period.

Among adults, 52.5 per cent have received at least one booster shot, a slight increase from 52.4 per cent in the previous reporting period.

According to the Ministry of Health, unvaccinated people have a significantly higher risk of hospital and ICU admission compared to those who have been fully vaccinated and have got a booster dose.