The Saskatchewan Health Authority issued a warning about a rise in COVID-19 variant cases in Moose Jaw and area on Saturday.
As of Friday, 1,240 variants have been identified in Saskatchewan, with Regina accounting for 1,041 of the variant cases. The south central zone, where Moose Jaw is located, accounts for 80 of the variant cases.
COVID-19 variants of concern are 36 to 70 per cent more transmissible, evidence shows, causing them to spread more easily.
The current variants of concern in Saskatchewan are B1.1.7, which was first identified in the U.K., and B1.351, which was first identified in South Africa.
Officials are reporting 224 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday and no new deaths related to coronavirus.
Regina is reporting the highest amount of new cases with 122, followed by Saskatoon, which has 28 new cases.
There are now 1,817 active cases in the province including 964 in Regina.
In hospital, there are 152 COVID-19 patients in total, including 25 in ICU.
There were 4,103 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on Friday. A total of 1,348 of those tests were from Regina alone.
Effective 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, new restrictions will come into place for Regina and area. All restaurants and licensed establishments must close for in-person dining, though take-out and delivery is allowed.
Venues such as banquet and conference facilities, movie theatres, bowling alleys, and museums must also close.
Health-care workers across the province also administered 4,814 doses of COVID-19 vaccine on Friday. A total of 167,509 have been administered in Saskatchewan so far.
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