Saskatchewan adds 54th coronavirus death, exceeds 9,000 total cases

For the fourth straight day, Saskatchewan has reported a death related to the novel coronavirus.

The recently deceased, who tested positive for COVID-19, was in the south zone and in their 80s, according to a press release. There have been 54 COVID-19-related deaths in Saskatchewan.

Health officials said there were 259 new cases in the daily update on Thursday, with the overall total for the province growing to 9,244 since the first case was reported in March. They added the new seven-day average of daily cases is 269.

According to the press release, most of the new cases are located in the Regina zone with 112, while there are 50 in Saskatoon, 21 each in south west and north west, 20 in north central, 10 in south central, nine in far north west, six in south east, three each in central west and central east, two in north east and one in far north east. Residence information is still pending for one new infection.

In the province, 128 people are currently in hospital with COVID-19 — 104 are receiving inpatient care and 24 are in intensive care.

Nearly 215 more people have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 5,173.

There is a new record high of 4,017 active cases in the province, health officials said. Active cases are total cases less recoveries and deaths.

According to the press release, 3,247 COVID-19 tests were performed on Wednesday in Saskatchewan. To date, 353,638 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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