Saskatchewan hit a tragic milestone and surpassed 100 coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday.
Seven deaths were added to the province’s death toll for a total of 105, according to the Saskatchewan government.
Five of the deceased who tested positive for COVID-19 were in the 80-plus age group, with three in the Regina zone and one each in Saskatoon and south west, officials said. Another was in their 40s and reported in the south east the seventh was in north central and in their 60s.
Health officials said there were 238 new cases in the daily update on Thursday, with the overall total for the province growing to 12,832 since the first case was reported in March. They added that the new seven-day average of daily cases is 230.
According to a press release, most of the new cases are located in the Saskatoon zone with 81, while there are 40 in Regina, 32 in north central, 26 in north west, 15 in far north east, nine in north east, seven each in central east and south central, five in far north west, three each in south west and south east as well as one in far north central. Residence information is still pending for nine new infections.
In the province, 126 people are currently in hospital with COVID-19 — 104 are receiving inpatient care and 22 are in intensive care.
Officials said 466 more people have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 8,749.
There are currently 3,978 active cases in the province, health officials said. Active cases are total cases less recoveries and deaths.
According to the press release, 2,875 COVID-19 tests were performed on Wednesday in Saskatchewan. To date, 396,555 tests have been carried out in the province.
The government announced on Thursday that the isolation period for COVID-19-positive people has been reduced from 14 to 10 days, effective immediately.
People who are already in self-isolation should still continue to wait for public health to confirm they are recovered, according to government officials.
According to a press release, individuals who are self-isolating as a result of being a close contact of a positive case must continue to self-isolate for 14 days as it can take several days for symptoms to appear and then once symptoms appear they must self-isolate for 10 days from the onset of symptoms.
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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.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.
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