12 kids among Sask. COVID hospitalizations in September

A dozen children under the age of 12 were among the 449 Saskatchewan residents hospitalized with COVID-19 in September.

There also were two kids under 12 among the 83 people admitted to intensive care units in the province during the month.

Those were two of the pieces of data available when the Ministry of Health revealed its COVID numbers for September on Tuesday.

Children under 12 currently aren’t eligible to be vaccinated in Saskatchewan. In fact, the numbers showed the vast majority of cases were among people who hadn’t been fully vaccinated.

The 13,141 cases reported in September included 10,237 individuals who weren’t vaccinated or who tested positive within three weeks of getting their first shot. There were 2,904 cases among people who were considered fully vaccinated.

Of the 2,904 cases who had received a second dose, 320 had a comorbidity and 616 were 70 years of age or over.

The 449 people hospitalized during the month comprised 348 who weren’t vaccinated or who tested positive within three weeks of getting their first dose and 101 who had got both shots.

The 83 ICU cases in the month included 73 people who weren’t vaccinated and 10 who were fully vaccinated. Four of the ICU cases were between the ages of 12 and 19.

Thanksgiving suggestions

The ministry made recommendations to prevent transmission during the Thanksgiving weekend. Those included:

• Gather outdoors as much as possible. While the risk of transmission is not zero, it is lower;
• If gathering indoors, be aware of the vaccination status of all your guests. Children under 12 are at elevated risk of transmission as they cannot be vaccinated at this time;
• Close quarters and shared food service remain high risk for COVID-19 transmission;
• If you are unvaccinated, you should not gather with family and friends this long weekend, as you are putting them at risk; and,
• If gathering in a public place like a restaurant or enjoying long weekend activities, follow the masking and/or proof of vaccination or test requirement of that location.