2 new coronavirus cases in Saskatchewan, 81 active cases

Saskatchewan reported two new coronavirus cases on the first day of expanded testing in the province.

Health officials said one new case is in the far north and the other is in the north region.

It raises the overall total in the province to 634 — with 81 active cases. It’s the smallest number of active cases in Saskatchewan since April 28, when 70 were reported.

The majority of the active cases in the province — 68 — are in the far north.

Other regions with active cases are Saskatoon (six), the north (six) and the south region (one). Regina and the central regions have no active cases.

Six people are in hospital — one in Regina, one in the north and four in Saskatoon. All four people in Saskatoon are in intensive care.

Officials said eight more people have recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 546 — an 86 per cent recovery rate.

Seven people in the province have died from COVID-19.

Officials said 358 cases are linked to community contact or mass gatherings, 141 are travel-related, 59 are under investigation by public health and 76 have no known exposure.

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Saskatchewan has completed 44,312 tests so far for the virus, up 450 from Sunday.

The two new cases were reported as the province started its expanded testing for the coronavirus on Monday.

Testing was previously restricted to people with coronavirus symptoms, someone who may have been in contact with someone known to have, or suspected to have, COVID-19 and high-risk people.

It also included residents being admitted to a long-term or personal care home, and all residents and staff at a long-term or personal care home where a resident or staff member tested positive for the coronavirus.

Now, anyone working outside the home or returning to work as part of Saskatchewan’s reopening plan can request to be tested.

Proactive testing will also be carried out on at-risk people, including patients staying more than 24 hours in the hospital and expectant mothers entering a hospital to give birth.

Immunocompromised asymptomatic individuals, including cancer patients in advance of undergoing immunosuppressive procedures such as chemotherapy, will also be tested along with health staff working with immunocompromised patients.

Mobile testing will also take place in high-volume work settings such as factories.

There will also be increased testing of homeless people and people living in vulnerable settings.

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.

For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.