Six COVID-19-related deaths were reported in Saskatchewan on Tuesday, bringing the province’s death toll to 482 since the pandemic began.
One of the recently deceased was reported in their 40s from the south east zone; two deaths were in the 60 to 69 age group from south west and Regina, and three deaths were among the 80-plus age group from the south east (2) and Regina (1), according to a press release.
Health officials said on Tuesday there were 224 new cases, with the overall infection total in Saskatchewan now at 40,401. The Saskatoon zone leads the province with 70 new infections.
The seven-day average of new daily infections is down to 248 from 251 on Monday.
According to the provincial government, 97 new variants of concern (VOC) cases have been identified in Saskatchewan while the total (6,301) is reported as follows: far north west (87), far north east (2), north west (167), north central (99), north east (12), Saskatoon (687), central west (81), central east (277), Regina (3,513), south west (172), south central (472) and south east (643) zones. The residences of 89 VOC cases are pending.
The province’s hospitals are currently providing care for 186 patients with COVID-19 — 144 are receiving inpatient care and 42 are in intensive care.
Active cases, which are total cases minus recoveries and deaths, now sit at 2,518 in Saskatchewan, according to the press release.
The total number of people who have recovered from the virus has grown to 37,401 following 238 more recoveries, provincial health officials said.
According to the press release, 2,865 COVID-19 tests were performed on Monday. To date, 759,166 tests have been carried out in the province.
A total of 408,429 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Saskatchewan, provincial government officials said.
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, visit the Global News coronavirus web page.