Sask. adds 22 new COVID cases, highest daily total in nearly two months

Saskatchewan reported on Friday its highest single-day total of COVID-19 cases since mid-August.

The Ministry of Health said there were 22 new cases in the province, the most in one day since 25 cases were reported on Aug. 15.

Five of the new cases announced Friday were in the Saskatoon zone, with four in each of the north-central and central-east areas, three in the central-west area, and two in each of the Regina, far northeast and south-central regions.

Those cases increased the provincial total to date to 2,034.

The total number of cases has increased by 121 since Oct. 1. This week alone, outbreaks have been declared at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine, Full Gospel Outreach in Prince Albert, Bert Baxter’s Transport Ltd., in Estevan and the Affinity Credit Union in Estevan.

The declaration of an outbreak in non-household settings follows two or more positive cases.

There were 26 recoveries reported Friday, bringing that total so far to 1,871. To date, 24 people have died in the province after testing positive for COVID-19.

The number of active cases being reported is 139.

There are eight people in hospital in Saskatchewan.

Six of them — four in Saskatoon and one in each of Regina and the southwest — are receiving inpatient care. There is one person in intensive care in Regina and one in Saskatoon.

The number of hospitalizations has increased by seven since Monday.

The total includes 1,004 community contacts, a figure that has gone up by 60 since the start of October. There also have been 590 cases without any known exposures, 308 travellers and 132 cases that remain under investigation.

There have been 460 cases from the south area (225 southwest, 207 south-central, 28 southeast), 425 from the Saskatoon zone, 367 in the far north (354 far northwest, 13 far northeast), 293 in the central area (180 central-west, 113 central-east), 289 from the north (133 northwest, 87 north-central, 69 northeast) and 200 in the Regina region.

The total also includes 77 health-care workers.

To date, there have been 681 cases among people aged 20 to 39, 612 in the 40-to-59 age range, 348 involving people 19 and under, 325 between the ages of 60 and 79, and 68 among people 80 and over.

There were 2,330 tests done in Saskatchewan on Thursday, increasing the provincial total to date to 209,560.