Four deaths related to COVID-19 were reported in Saskatchewan on Friday, raising the overall total fatalities to 44.
Three were over the age of 80 — one each in the Regina, north-central and southeast zones — and the fourth was a person in their 70s from the south-central zone.
Saskatchewan has now reported seven deaths in the last two days.
The province also reported 329 new coronavirus cases Friday. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is now 268 — 22.1 new cases per 100,000 population.
Most of the new cases — 158 — are in the Saskatoon zone.
Regina reported 61 new cases and the northwest and north-central zones reported 23 and 21 new cases respectively.
New cases were also reported in the far northwest (8), far northeast (4), northeast (1), central-west (6), central-east (11), southwest (16), south-central (1) and south-east (14).
Five new cases have pending residence information.
Saskatchewan has now reported 7,691 cases since the start of the pandemic, 3,263 of which are considered active.
The province said 111 people are in hospital, with 16 in intensive care.
Health officials reported 208 recoveries, bringing the number of people who have overcome COVID-19 to 4,384.
Coronavirus breakdown
Of all cases reported to date in Saskatchewan, 3,419 are community contacts, 1,569 have no known exposures, 466 are travellers and 2,237 are under investigation by public health.
Here is a breakdown of total Saskatchewan cases by age:
- 1,611 people are 19 and under
- 2,740 people are 20 to 39
- 2,045 are 40 to 59
- 1,020 people are 60 to 79
- 270 people are 80 and over
Females make up 51 per cent of the cases, males 49 per cent.
Saskatchewan has completed 334,051 tests so far for the virus, up 3,687 from Thursday.
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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