The Ministry of Health reports 34 active cases of COVID-19 were determined from 13,000 tests among Saskatchewan students for the week of September 21-27. Twenty-two of those cases were in Saskatoon, six in the Central East zone, three in the Regina area, two in the South East and one in the Far North West zone.

As for Thursday’s novel coronavirus update in the province, there were 14 new cases…five in the Central East zone, four in the Regina area, two in the South West region and one in each of the North Central, North East and South Central zones. The report adds that nine individuals recovered from COVID-19, leaving Saskatchewan with 144 active cases of the virus. Seven of those are in hospital, all receiving inpatient care…four in Saskatoon, two in the South West one and one in the Regina area. All told in the province, there have been 1,927 reported cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic was declared in mid-March with 1,759 recoveries.

Of the 1,927 cases in the province to date:

• 291 cases are travellers;
• 944 are community contacts (including mass gatherings);
• 564 have no known exposures; and
• 128 are under investigation by local public health.

Overall in Saskatchewan to date:

• 73 cases are healthcare workers; however, the source of the infections may not be related to healthcare in all instances.
• 331 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, while the remainder are adults.
• 634 cases are in the 20-39 age range; 589 are in the 40-59 age range; 309 are in the 60-79 age range; and 64 are in the 80-plus range.
• 51 per cent of the cases are females and 49 per cent are males.
• 24 deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported to date.
• There are:
  • 444 cases are from the south area (224 south west, 201 south central, 19 south east)
  • 393 cases are from the Saskatoon area
  • 359 cases are from the far north area (350 far north west, 0 far north central, 9 far north east)
  • 279 cases are from the north area (132 north west, 79 north central, 68 north east)
  • 264 cases are from the central area (176 central west, 88 central east)
  • 188 cases are from the Regina area

To date, 193,006 COVID-19 tests have been performed in Saskatchewan. As of September 29, 2020 when other provincial and national numbers are available from Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 135,135 people tested per million population. The national rate was 196,693 people tested per million population.

On Wednesday, 2,211 COVID-19 tests were performed in Saskatchewan.

Weekly Reporting of Testing Numbers and Cases for Youth

Monitoring the trends of COVID-19 cases in school-aged children, the weekly report of cases and testing numbers for children aged 0-19 with data by age categories and testing positivity rates has been posted for the week of September 21-27 at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19-Safe-Schools-Plan.

Reports will be published Thursdays.

Data is provided by 32 sub-zones to help the public more easily identify areas where virus activity may be more prevalent. Information is not specific to schools, but schools with a declared outbreak will be posted at https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/latest-updates.

In-School Testing

The week of September 14, asymptomatic testing opportunities were made available at three high schools in the province. There were 987 tests completed and the positivity rate was 0 per cent.

All students and staff should remain home if experiencing even mild symptoms. Preventing in-school transmission begins with preventing community transmission.