Latest COVID update June 21: 48 new cases, 2 deaths, 711 active cases

The number of active COVID-19 cases being reported in Saskatchewan dropped to an eight-month low Monday.

In its daily update, the Ministry of Health reported 48 new cases, 79 recoveries and two deaths. The number of active cases fell to 711, the lowest it has been since it was 707 on Oct. 29.

The number of hospitalizations dropped to 76, the lowest that number has been since it was 76 on Nov. 18.

The province also announced it was going back to a 48-hour reporting period for new vaccinations instead of the 24-hour format it had been using over the weekend. As a result, the number of new vaccinations reported was just 961, leaving the province’s total just under one million — at 998,779.

A look at the numbers

The 48 new cases — plus one out-of-province positive result that was added to the province’s total — increased Saskatchewan’s total to date to 48,490.

The latest infections were reported in the Regina (15), north-central (10), Saskatoon (six), far northwest (five), northwest (three), south-central (three), central-west (two), far northeast (one) and southeast (one) zones. The hometowns of two cases are pending.

The seven-day average of new COVID cases is 69, or 5.6 per 100,000 population. It hasn’t been that low since Oct. 31, when it was 68.

There were 16 new cases of variants of concern reported, increasing Saskatchewan’s total to date to 11,971.

The latest deaths were people in the 80-and-over age group — one each from the north-central and northwest zones. To date, 565 Saskatchewan residents have died due to the virus.

The hospitalizations include 65 people who are receiving inpatient care and 11 people who are in intensive care. There are four ICU cases in each of Regina and Saskatoon, two in the north-central zone and one in the central-east region.

The 20 hospitalizations total in Regina is the fewest since there were 19 on Nov. 27.

The total number of recoveries to date in the province is 47,214.

The 1,518 tests done Sunday increased the provincial total so far to 902,790.

Vaccination update

The latest vaccinations included 725 second shots and 236 first doses.

Those shots were administered in the Regina (343), Saskatoon (236), southeast (70), central-east (58), north-central (53), northeast (42), far northwest (35), far northeast (25), south-central (24), central-west (15), southwest (15), northwest (11), and far north-central (two) regions.

The hometowns of 32 recipients are pending.

As of Saturday, 80 per cent of those aged 40 and over had received their first dose of a COVID vaccine. Seventy-four per cent of those 30 and up had got their first shot, 70 per cent of those aged 18 and over had got their first jab, and 69 per cent of those over the age of 12 had been immunized.

The government announced Sunday the province would enter Step Three of its Re-Opening Roadmap on July 11 — the same day it would lift the final public health measures: Mandatory masking and gathering limits.

As of Monday, anyone who got their first dose on or before May 15 is eligible to get their second shot.