Saskatchewan reported three new novel coronavirus cases on Thursday, along with five more recoveries.
The new cases — two in the far north and one in Saskatoon — raise the overall total to 759. Officials said one case has been removed from the count as the person was from outside the province.
There are now 98 active cases in the province, health officials said — 54 in the far north, 32 in the south, 10 in Saskatoon and two in the north.
Nine people are in hospital — four in the south, three in the north and two in Saskatoon. Two people are in intensive care — one in Saskatoon and another in the north.
It’s the highest number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 since May 15, when nine people were in the hospital.
The five new recoveries raise total recoveries to 648.
Thirteen people in the province have died due to COVID-19.
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Phase 4 reopening
Premier Scott Moe said the date to for the remainder of Phase 4 of the reopening plan will be announced next week.
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The remainder of Phase 4 will include indoor pools, casinos and bingo halls.
Moe said although case numbers are low, with the exception of localized outbreaks in the northwest and southwest, the province needs to proceed cautiously and not remove all restrictions.
“It’s just not realistic because the risk of the spread of COVID-19 does not disappear,” Moe said.
“Just look at what is happening in areas south of our borders. In recent days, case numbers have spiked to record highs in places like Florida and Arizona and in Texas.”
Moe said removing all restrictions would undo all the good work done by people in the province to reduce the risk of the coronavirus spreading.
Hospitalization numbers and symptoms
Saskatchewan has had just under a seven per cent hospitalization rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases.
The national hospitalization rate is 15 per cent for COVID-19, according to Health Canada.
Dr. Saqib Shahab, the province’s chief medical health officer, said 53 people have been hospitalized as of June 24 since the start of the pandemic.
The breakdown of cases is only updated as of June 22.
As of that date, Shahab said at least one person in each age group require hospitalization:
- One person 19 and under
- Four people 20 to 39
- 20 people 40 to 59
- 18 people 60 to 79
- Eight people 80 and over
Shahab said 18 people required intensive care — nine between the ages of 40 and 59 and nine between the ages of 60 and 79.
Eleven people have required intubation — placing a tube into a patient’s windpipe to maintain an open airway.
The most prevalent symptom among COVID-19 patients was a cough — present in 58 per cent of the cases, Shahab said.
Other major symptoms include fever (34 per cent), headache (29 per cent), sore throat (29 per cent) and coryza/rhinitis or stuffy nose (26 per cent).
Coronavirus breakdown
Here is a breakdown of total Saskatchewan cases by age:
- 107 people are 19 and under
- 260 people are 20 to 39
- 241 are 40 to 59
- 130 people are 60 to 79
- 21 people are 80 and over
Females make up 51 per cent of the cases, males 49 per cent.
Officials said 459 cases are linked to community contact or mass gatherings, 157 are travel-related, 100 have no known exposure and 44 are under investigation by public health.
Saskatchewan has completed 62,435 tests so far for the virus, up 579 from Wednesday.
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.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.
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