14th coronavirus death reported in Saskatchewan

A person in their 70s is the latest person in Saskatchewan to die after testing positive for the novel coronavirus.

Health officials said Thursday the person was from the far north. No other details were released.

Fourteen people in the province have now died from COVID-19.

The province also reported 10 new cases — seven in the far north, two in the north and one in Saskatoon — raising the overall count to 795.

Four of the cases are from July 1 and six from July 2. The province stopped providing updates on statutory holidays and weekends as of July 1.

Health officials said there are 80 active cases in the province — 46 in the far north, 21 in the south region, eight in the north region and five in Saskatoon.

Six people are currently in hospital — three in the north and three in Saskatoon. Two people in the north and one person in Saskatoon are in intensive care.

The province also reported 17 more recoveries, bringing the total number of recoveries to 701.

Non-essential travel advisory to northern Alberta lifted

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has lifted a non-essential travel advisory to northern Alberta.

The advisory was issued on April 18 after health officials linked COVID-19 cases in northwest Saskatchewan to travel to northern Alberta.

The medical health officer responsible for the area in Alberta has declared the outbreak over.

The SHA said although the travel advisory has been rescinded, people should continue to take precautions to protect themselves and others from the novel coronavirus.

This includes proper hand hygiene, avoiding large gatherings, physical distancing and wearing a mask when physical distancing is not possible.

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Coronavirus breakdown

Here is a breakdown of total Saskatchewan cases by age:

• 116 people are 19 and under
• 278 people are 20 to 39
• 249 are 40 to 59
• 131 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 478 cases are linked to community contact or mass gatherings, 165 are travel-related, 109 have no known exposure and 43 are under investigation by public health.

Saskatchewan has completed 67,243 tests so far for the virus, up 1,303 from Tuesday (614 on July 1 and 689 on July 2).

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.