Active coronavirus cases have reached a new high for the 14th-consecutive day in Saskatchewan on Friday.
There are currently 742 active cases in the province, health officials said. Active cases are total cases less recoveries and deaths.
Most active COVID-19 cases are in the Saskatoon zone with 257 followed by 133 in north central, according to a press release. It added that initial investigations in Saskatoon and Prince Albert are finding that some new cases are linked to known cases and clusters, and some appear to be unknown community transmissions.
Health officials said there were 76 new cases in the daily update, with the overall total for the province growing to 3,066 since the first case was reported in March.
According to the press release, most of the new cases are located in the Saskatoon zone with 34, while there are 19 in north central, seven in Regina, four each in north east and central east, and the rest evenly in far north west, north west, south central and south east.
In the province, 22 people are currently in hospital with COVID-19 — 16 are receiving inpatient care and six are in intensive care.
Forty-one more people have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 2,299.
There have been 25 COVID-19-related deaths in Saskatchewan.
According to a press release, 2,190 COVID-19 tests were performed on Thursday in Saskatchewan. To date, 260,333 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.
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