Saskatchewan reports 394 new COVID cases, 17 deaths

The test positivity rate and number of COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan both rose during the latest reporting period.

According to the weekly epidemiological report from the Ministry of Health, there were 5,880 laboratory tests done in the province between June 5 and Saturday, down slightly from the 5,888 tests performed the week before.

The tests detected 394 new cases, for a test positivity rate of 6.5 per cent. In the previous week, the test positivity rate was 4.6 per cent after 285 cases were detected.

There were 17 COVID-related deaths listed in Thursday’s report, but only two occurred between June 5 and Saturday. The other 15 occurred between Sept. 28 and June 4 and were discovered through regular auditing.

While some figures rose, the number of people with COVID in Saskatchewan hospitals dropped to a level not seen since mid-January.

As of Wednesday, there were 165 people with COVID in Saskatchewan health-care facilities, down from 187 in the previous week. The hospitalization total is at its lowest level since there were 162 COVID patients on Jan. 16.

The number of people with COVID in intensive care units fell to six from 10 the previous week.

The latest hospitalizations included 51 people with COVID-related illnesses, while 106 had incidental infections and eight remained under investigation.

A look at the numbers

The new cases were found in the Saskatoon (124), Regina (60), southeast (40), central-east (39), northwest (25), south-central (19), north-central (15), northeast (12), southwest (11), central-west (10), far northwest (nine), far northeast (eight) and far north-central (one) regions.

The hometowns of 21 cases were pending.

The latest figures represented 33 cases per 100,000 people in the province, up from 24 per 100,000 people in the previous week.

There were 94 new lineage results reported this week, all of which were the Omicron variant.

Six of the deaths reported Thursday were in the central-east region, three were in the Saskatoon area, two occurred in the south-central zone, and one was reported in each of the northwest, north-central, northeast, Regina, southwest and southeast zones.

Nine of the people who died during the week were in the 80-and-over age group, five were in their 70s, two were in their 60s and one was between the ages of 20 and 39.

As of Saturday, 1,412 Saskatchewan residents had died due to COVID.

There were two outbreaks reported in long-term care homes during the week, and three in personal care and group homes.

Vaccination update

The ministry said 4,722 COVID doses of the COVID vaccine were administered during the week, with 4,198 booster shots.

As of June 4, 86 per cent of people in the province aged five and older had received at least one dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine and 81.1 per cent had completed a series.

Among those 18 and over, 52.6 per cent had received at least one booster shot.

Evusheld available

The drug Evusheld is now available in Saskatchewan for pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 in those 12 and over who weigh at least 40 kilograms.

It’s also available to those who have not had a known recent exposure to an individual affected with COVID-19, and who are immunocompromised and are unlikely to mount an adequate immune response to vaccination or for whom COVID vaccination is not recommended.

Anyone interested in getting Evusheld should consult their physician or nurse practitioner to see if it’s an option. It’s only available by prescription.