The Government of Saskatchewan released the COVID-19 numbers for the reporting period of Aug. 14 to Sept. 10.
As the province’s chief medical officer noted, cases are rising further, but slightly.
“We are, as expected, seeing a slight increase in COVID-19 transmission over August and September,” Dr. Saqib Shahab said.
He noted that it wouldn’t help in reporting the cases week-by-week, adding that we already know test positivity is trending upwards.
“It’s likely going to continue for another month or two before slowly coming down. We don’t think it is going to go as high as it went in the spring with Omicron BA.1. What we’ve seen right now is almost entirely BA.5.”
Shahab said getting your booster is really important.
According to the report, test positivity rose to 8.9 per cent, compared with 7.4 per cent in the last reporting period.
It added that both COVID-19 hospital admissions and ICU admissions have been on the rise as well.
Some 594 hospital admissions were reported, up from 556 in the last surveillance period, and 38 ICU admissions were reported, which is up from 30 in the last report.
That being said, reported outbreaks at high-risk settings in the province have decreased to 41 from 46.
The Far North West and Central West zones recorded the highest positivity rate in the province.
The number of reported deaths due to COVID-19 in the province averaged about six per week.
Starting Monday, Sept. 19, the Moderna bivalent booster dose will be available at Saskatchewan Health Authority vaccination clinics and pharmacies for all Saskatchewan residents 70 years and older, and all Saskatchewan residents 50 years and older in First Nation and Métis communities.