New high of 911 active coronavirus cases in Saskatchewan

A new record for active coronavirus cases has been set in Saskatchewan.

There are currently 911 active cases in the province, health officials said. Active cases are total cases less recoveries and deaths.

After technical difficulties with the validation of COVID-19 tests on Tuesday at the Roy Romanow Provincial Laboratory, nine confirmed cases were included in Friday’s case total.

There were 87 new cases in the daily update, with the overall total for the province growing to 3,623 since the first case was reported in March. Health officials said the residences of three new infections are still pending.

According to a press release, most of the new cases are located in the Saskatoon zone with 25, while there are 20 in Regina, 11 in central east, eight each in far northwest and northwest, five in southeast, three in north-central, two in south-central, and one each in far northeast and southwest.

In the province, 33 people are currently in hospital with COVID-19 — 29 are receiving inpatient care and four are in intensive care.

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Fifty-three more people have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 2,687.

There have been 25 COVID-19-related deaths in Saskatchewan.

According to a press release, 2,217 COVID-19 tests were performed on Thursday in Saskatchewan. To date, 275,737 tests have been carried out in the province.

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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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