SHA says several children being treated in hospital for COVID-19

One month ago, Saskatchewan reported its first COVID-19-related death of someone younger than the age of 20 since the pandemic began.

While there wasn’t any information on how old the youth was, according to the Ministry of Health, the person was from the northwest zone. At that time in early March, there were 424 active cases among those 19 years of age and younger throughout the province.

Since then, the number of children and youth who have contracted the virus has substantially increased. According to the province’s latest numbers from March 29 to April 4, there are currently 634 active cases of COVID-19 in those 19 and under.

Test positivity rate in that same age group is 8.2 per cent.

The bulk of the cases are in the Regina region with 329, followed by the south at 118. There are 75 cases in Saskatoon, 70 in the north, 24 in the far north, and 17 in the central region. One active case is listed as an “unknown” location.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority says that as of Thursday, there were four people under the age of 20 being treated in hospital for issues related to the virus. No information is available on their locations, said the SHA.

According to information from the provincial health ministry, as of Friday, there have been 36 inpatient hospitalizations for those under the age of 20 since March 2020. Three of those cases ended up in an ICU.