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COVID-19: 358 new infections, 6 deaths reported in Saskatchewan

Click to play video: 'Medical expert sound alarm over ‘collateral damage’ of lockdowns'
Medical expert sound alarm over ‘collateral damage’ of lockdowns
WATCH: Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Martha Fulford shares insight on the collateral damage caused by lockdowns in the fight against COVID-19 – Apr 9, 2021

Saskatchewan has added six COVID-19-related deaths for a total of 453 since the pandemic began.

One of the recently deceased was in their 40s from the Regina zone; four were in their 70s in Regina (2), Saskatoon (1), and South East (1); and the last was in the 80-plus age group from Regina, according to a press release.

Health officials said on Friday there were 358 new cases, with the overall infection total in Saskatchewan now at 35,748. This is the fifth-highest number of new daily infections reported to date.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said during a press briefing on Friday that conversations will take place over the weekend with the province’s chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab and his team.

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“We do have significant (public health) measures in place. We must not … set aside the fact that we do have significant measures in place across this province, even more significant here in Regina,” Moe said.

“There may be a discussion over the course of this weekend that there may be some other areas that we need to look at. That will be some advice, I’m sure, that Dr. Shahab would bring forward when he feels appropriate.

“These numbers will be watched very, very closely over the course of the next few days and those conversations with Dr. Shahab will continue. And if there are additional measures that need to be looked at in other areas of Saskatchewan, we would take Dr. Shahab’s advice with respect to that.

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The new seven-day average of daily infections is up from 226 on Thursday to 242.

According to the provincial government, 3,086 variants of concern (VOC) cases have been identified in Saskatchewan and were reported in the far north west (2), far north east (4), north west (7), north central (24), Saskatoon (189), central west (13), central east (71), Regina (2,189), south west (19), south central (266) and south east (283) zones. The residences of 19 VOC cases are pending.

The province’s hospitals are currently providing care for 206 patients with COVID-19 — 163 are receiving inpatient care and 43 are in intensive care.

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Active cases, which are total cases minus recoveries and deaths, now sit at 2,337 in Saskatchewan, according to the press release.

The total number of people who have recovered from the virus has grown to 32,958 following 160 more recoveries, provincial health officials said.

According to the press release, 3,914 COVID-19 tests were performed on Thursday. To date, 697,515 tests have been carried out in the province.

A total of 256,280 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Saskatchewan, provincial government officials said. They added 11,634 doses recently given is the highest administered in a day to date.

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Essential front-line workers call for change to Saskatchewan’s age-based vaccine rollout

Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

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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, visit the Global News coronavirus web page.

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