For the first time in 18 days, the Saskatchewan government has reported a double-digit increase in the number of coronavirus infections in the province.
The last double-digit increase was Aug. 16, when there were 15 new cases.
Health officials said there were 10 new cases in the daily update on Thursday, with the overall total for the province growing to 1,634 since the first case was reported in March.
Most of the new cases are located in the Saskatoon zone with six. There are also two cases in central-west and the remainder are in north-central and south-central zones.
There are currently 36 active cases in the province, health officials said. Active cases are total cases less recoveries and deaths.
The government said all of Saskatoon’s 17 current active cases and several of the province’s active cases are directly related to out-of-province travel. Of the 1,634 cases in the province, health officials said 241 cases have been travellers.
Both of the current hospitalizations in the province are in Saskatoon — one is receiving inpatient care and the other is in intensive care.
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Three more people have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 1,574.
There have been 24 COVID-19-related deaths in Saskatchewan.
According to a press release, 1,325 COVID-19 tests were performed in Saskatchewan on Wednesday. To date, over 143,450 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.
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