COVID deaths continue to decline: Sask. health ministry

Recent weeks have seen a downward trend when it comes to COVID-related deaths in Saskatchewan.

The latest Community Respiratory Illness Surveillance Program (CRISP) report from Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Health, which covered the period from April 9 through last Saturday, showed just one COVID death in the week ending Saturday. That’s a decline from three the previous week, six the week before that, and nine in the week ending April 1.

Hospital admissions due to COVID also dropped, the report showed, with 66 admissions occurring in the week ending last Saturday and 72 in the previous week. The week ending April 8 saw 78 hospital admissions, and the week prior saw 93. Between April 9 and last Saturday, 16 COVID patients were admitted to intensive care units.

There were 208 lab-confirmed COVID cases in the province in the week of April 9-15 and 191 cases confirmed by lab testing in the week ending Saturday.

The test positivity rate for COVID remained stable in Saskatchewan at 10.5 per cent, the ministry said.

A total of 46.3 per cent of the provincial population is up to date on COVID vaccinations, the report stated.

Influenza

According to the ministry, influenza was responsible for no deaths or ICU admissions in the most recent reporting period, but two people were admitted to hospital due to the flu.

A total of 24 cases were confirmed by lab testing between April 9 and last Saturday — 12 each week.

“Influenza activity was low in the past four weeks with sporadic cases distributed in communities throughout the province,” the ministry noted in its report. “No influenza outbreaks in high-risk settings were reported in the last month.”

The report indicated 27 per cent of Saskatchewan residents have been immunized against influenza.

RSV

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) led to nine hospital admissions and three ICU admissions between April 9 and last Saturday, the ministry noted.

A total of 16 cases were confirmed between April 9 and last Saturday, but that number has been steadily declining since late March.

The majority of the RSV cases detected in Saskatchewan are among the pediatric age group, the ministry said.

Ministry switches to monthly reporting

The Ministry of Health will switch from biweekly to monthly reports during the summer months, Thursday’s CRISP report noted.

“CRISP reports will be transitioning to monthly during the summer months as the prevalence of respiratory viruses in the warmer months declines,” the report stated. “We will return to regular bi-weekly CRISP reporting in the fall.”