The Saskatchewan government reported the province’s 20th COVID-19-related death as it gave an update on new cases on Friday.
The deceased, who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, was in their 60s and from the southwest region, according to a press release.
Health officials said there were 23 new cases in the daily update, with the overall total for the province growing to 1,409 since the first case was reported in March.
Most of the new cases are located in the south-central area with 12. There were three each in the Saskatoon and southwest zones, two in Regina and central east, with the last in the northwest, according to a press release.
Health officials said 19 of Friday’s new cases are people living in “communal living settings” and the reported increase is a result of aggressive contact tracing as well as increased testing.
One case has been removed from Saskatchewan’s total case count due to a false positive from July 20, officials said.
Thirteen people are currently in hospital — nine are receiving inpatient care and four are in intensive care.
Fifty-seven more people have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 1,221.
There are currently 168 active cases in the province, health officials said. Active cases are total cases less recoveries and deaths.
A new daily high of 2,129 COVID-19 tests was performed in Saskatchewan on Thursday, health officials said. To date, over 108,145 tests have been carried out in the province.
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus. In some provinces and municipalities across the country, masks or face coverings are now mandatory in indoor public spaces.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.
Comments