Saskatchewan reported 197 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, along with one additional death.
The person who died was in their 80s and was from the north west zone, says the government of Saskatchewan.
This brings the province’s COVID-19 death toll to 45 since the pandemic began, with 20 people having died just this month.
The province’s total caseload rose to 7,888.
Here are where the province’s new cases are located:
- Far North West: 6
- Far North East: 4
- North West: 5
- North Central: 17
- North East: 5
- Saskatoon: 56
- Central West: 1
- Central East: 5
- Regina: 73
- South West: 16
- South Central: 5
- South East: 2
The location of two cases remains pending.
There are 3,322 active cases as of Saturday, marking the ninth day in a row a new record has been set for active cases.
The seven-day average of daily new cases is 234, a decline from the 268-average reported on Friday. That works out to be about 19.3 cases per 100,000 people.
There are 106 people in hospital, with 18 people in the ICU.
Saskatchewan has processed 337,410 COVID-19 tests to date, an increase of 3,359 from Friday.
Community transmission leading to delayed contact tracing
The government of Saskatchewan issued a reminder on Saturday of increased community transmission of COVID-19 across the province.
The Ministry of Health says community transmission has happened in multiple settings including:
- A recent outbreak on a teenage hockey team resulted in nine players and one coach testing positive. Multiple teams are currently self-isolating as a result.
- A recent outbreak at a curling bonspiel resulted in positive cases on teams from several cities and towns across the province.
- Positive cases among attendees at a recent funeral has led to the potential exposure of more than 200 people.
- Recently, 17 nurses working in one hospital were required to self-isolate after being identified as close contacts to positive cases linked to sporting events and community transmission.
“The extensive amount of investigation and contact tracing as a result of these events causes delayed notification of possible exposure resulting in further transmission,” the government said in a press release.
“With significant outbreaks continuing to occur among larger gatherings and sporting events, the public is urged to follow the public health orders in place and are reminded these orders are enforceable.”