There are 288 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on April 13, bringing the provincial total to 36,892 cases. There are two new COVID cases in the Weyburn area, and the number of active cases in this area is 116, with 287 active cases for the southeast region.
There are two new deaths to report today. Both deaths were reported in the Regina zone from the 30-39 and 60-69 age groups.
The new cases are located in the Far North West (4), Northwest (31), North Central (5), Northeast (3), Saskatoon (44), Central West (2), Central East (22), Regina (117), Southwest (18), South Central (17) and Southeast (17) zones. Eight new cases have pending residence information. Seven cases with pending residence information have been assigned to the North Central (2), Saskatoon (1), Regina (1), South Central (1) and Southeast (2) zones.
There are a total of 33,880 recoveries, including 280 new recoveries, and 2,555 cases are considered active.
There are 202 people in hospital, and 161 people are receiving inpatient care: Far North West (2), Far North East (1), Northwest (2), North Central (8), Northeast (1), Saskatoon (47), Central East (10), Regina (80), Southwest (3) and Southeast (7). Forty-one people are in intensive care: North Central (2), Saskatoon (6), Central East (2), Regina (28), Southwest (1) and South Central (2).
Public Health Order Change
A change to the Public Health Order will come into effect immediately limiting household bubbles to immediate households only for all of Saskatchewan.
The new Public Health Order will also include limits of worship gathering sizes to allow no more than 30 people effective 12:01 Friday, April 16.
These Public Health Order measures are in effect until April 26 and will be reviewed at that time.
Vaccines Reported
An additional 7,846 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 298,767.
The 7,846 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered to residents living in the following regions: Far North West (40), Far North Central (1), Far North East (40), Northwest (137), North Central (311), Northeast (78), Saskatoon (1,632), Central West (339), Central East (589), Regina (2,742), Southwest (324), South Central (331) and Southeast (1,051). There were 231 doses administered with zone of residence pending.
Fifty-three per cent of Saskatchewan residents age 50+ have received their first dose.
The AstraZeneca Covax shipment (9,800 doses) is expected to arrive in Saskatchewan today (April 13).
Vaccination Booking System Expanding to Ages 52+ Province Wide
In an effort to continue to protect residents as quickly as possible, the eligible age for booking vaccination appointments online or by telephone is also being lowered from 55 to 52. This change will take effect at 8 a.m. Wednesday, April 14.
Online appointments can be made by visiting www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19. People who do not have a cell phone or email account or need assistance can book by calling 1-833-SaskVax (1-833-727-5829).
There are also several changes being made to the vaccine delivery plan to include more vulnerable groups to priority vaccination including all pregnant woman, young adults ages 16 and 17 who are considered clinically extremely vulnerable and everyone over the age of 40 in the far north.
Pregnant women and vulnerable 16 and 17 year olds will receive an eligibility letter from their physician and will need to use the 1-833-SaskVax telephone number to book.
Additional information on how to book your appointment is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-booking.
Regina Drive Thru Vaccination Clinic Open to Ages 49-54 ONLY
The Regina COVID-19 vaccine drive-through has expanded eligibility to include all residents aged 49-54 years only. This clinic will be first come first serve, open 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily at Evraz Place on the Regina Exhibition grounds.
For further information on all drive-through clinics in the province, including wait times, see https://www.saskhealthauthority.ca/news/service-alerts-emergency-events/Pages/COVID-19-Vaccine-Drive-Thru-Wait-Times.aspx.
The speed of the immunization delivery plan continues to be dependent on vaccine supply.
The seven-day average of daily new cases is 271 (22.1 new cases per 100,000). A chart comparing today's average to data collected over the past several months is available on the Government of Saskatchewan website at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness/covid-19/seven-day-average-of-new-covid-cases.
There were 3,007 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on April 12, including 259 tests in the southeast region.
To date, 710,655 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of April 11, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan's per capita rate was 596,218 tests performed per million population. The national rate was 766,796 tests performed per million population.
As of April 13, 3,813 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the Far North West (8), Far North East (2), Northwest (28), North Central (44), Northeast (3), Saskatoon (302), Central West (29), Central East (111), Regina (2,505), Southwest (40), South Central (329) and Southeast (371) zones. There are 41 cases with residence pending.
The Regina zone accounts for 1,131 (79 per cent) of the VOC cases with confirmed lineage reported in Saskatchewan.
Further statistics on the total number of cases among healthcare workers, breakdowns of total cases by source of infection, age, sex and region, total tests to date, per capita testing rate and current numbers of confirmed variants of concern can be found at http://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-cases.
Regina and Area
Due to increased COVID-19 transmission risk in Regina and area, revisions were made March 24 including: closing all restaurants and licensed establishments for in-person dining; and most event venues supporting 30 persons or less are not permitted to operate. Travel is also not recommended in or out of the Regina area unless absolutely necessary.
If you have any symptoms, stay home and arrange for a COVID-19 test. If anyone in your home has symptoms, the entire household should remain home until the test results are known.
Testing information is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/testing-information.
