No new case information will be reported by the Government of Saskatchewan until December 27.

The death toll is steadily climbing for COVID-19. The province reported Thursday four more deaths of individuals who tested positive for COVID-19. Two people in the North West Zone, one in their eighties and one in their seventies as well as two people in their eighties in Regina have died with COVID-19. The death toll is now at 134.

But the real twist on Thursday’s reporting is the number of people in hospital. It has jumped to 165. The province says that’s because hospitalizations had been under reported with those not considered infectious but still suffering complications not being counted but still in hospital.

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 203. Yesterday, 2,394 COVID-19 tests were processed in Saskatchewan. There are 154 new cases of COVID-19 however 655 people are considered recovered and the number of active cases is 3,346.

The new cases are located in the Far North West (10), Far North East (14), North West (17), North Central (28), North East (3), Saskatoon (30), Central West (2), Central East (10), Regina (25), South Central (3) and South East (3) zones. Nine (9) new cases have pending residence information.

As of December 23, 2020, 1,786 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine have been provided to health care workers in Regina as part of the initial pilot and Saskatoon as part of Phase 1.

Of the 14,255 cases in the province:

• 608 cases are travelers;
• 6,942 are community contacts (including mass gatherings);
• 3,293 have no known exposures; and
• 3,412 are under investigation by local public health.

Overall in Saskatchewan to date:

• 620 cases are healthcare workers; however, the source of the infections may not be related to healthcare in all instances.
• 3,067 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, while the remainder are adults.
• 5,052 cases are in the 20-39 age range; 3,668 are in the 40-59 age range; 1,849 are in the 60-79 age range; and 614 are in the 80-plus range. Confirmation of age is pending for five cases.
• 50 per cent of the cases are female and 50 per cent are male.
• 134 deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported to date.

Of 14,255 confirmed cases:

• 4,086 cases are from the Saskatoon area
• 3,366 cases are from the north area (1,323 north west, 1,574 north central, 469 north east)
• 2,814 cases are from the Regina area
• 1,515 cases are from the south area (554 south west, 528 south central, 433 south east)
• 1,543 cases are from the far north area (867 far north west, 106 far north central, 570 far north east)
• 884 cases are from the central area (333 central west, 551 central east)
• 47 cases have pending residence information

To date, 415,541 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of December 22, 2020 when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 252,000 people tested per million population. The national rate was 354,978 people tested per million population.

Yesterday, 2,394 COVID-19 tests were processed in Saskatchewan.

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 203 (16.7 new cases per 100,000 population) and is now available on the Government of Saskatchewan website. This chart compares today’s average to data collected over the past several months. Please visit https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness/covid-19/seven-day-average-of-new-covid-cases.

Reconciliation of Hospitalized Residents

The provincial dashboard reports that 125 people are in hospital. One hundred and four people are receiving inpatient care: two in the Far North West, four in the North West, 18 in the North Central, three in the North East, 40 in the Saskatoon, two in the Central West, four in the Central East, 25 in the Regina, two in the South West and four in the South East zones. Twenty-one people are in intensive care: one in the North West, six in the North Central, ten in the Saskatoon, three in the Regina and one in the South West zones.

With Saskatchewan updating definitions of the COVID-19 infectious period to align with national definitions, the COVID-19 data set correction resulted in the number of individuals hospitalized due to COVID-19 being under-reported in the daily, provincial report. As of December 22, 2020, there were an additional 40 COVID-19 patients in hospital, including nine in ICU, who have been receiving care, resulting in the reported case number of 165. The Saskatchewan Health Authority is working on a process to ensure these numbers are included in the daily case reports. The provincial dashboard will have a notation added while this process is finalized.

These are not new hospitalizations. These are patients no longer infectious for COVID-19, which had shifted them from active to recovered cases, but still experiencing the complications of COVID-19 illness. Validation processes are in place to report a complete census of patients in hospital, including ICU, due to COVID-19. The Ministry of Health is currently reviewing how these cases are reported in other Canadian jurisdictions.

Public Health Measures Effective December 25

For more information on the public health measures that take effect Friday, December 25, or to see the Public Health Order, visit https://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-measures.

Weekly Reporting of Testing Numbers and Cases for Youth

The trends of COVID-19 cases in school-aged children are being monitored. The weekly report of cases and testing numbers for children aged 0-19, including data by age and positivity rates, has been posted at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19-Safe-Schools-Plan.

Drive-thru Testing Sites’ Holiday Hours

As we move through the holiday season, please be aware that the COVID-19 drive-thru testing sites will have modified hours. Please check the Government of Saskatchewan website for all of the dates and times for drive-thru testing: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/testing-information.

Case Information Posting through December

The daily provincial case information, including news release and dashboard, will be posted December 24; December 27; and December 29 through December 31. Updates will not be available on December 25, 26, 28 and January 1. Case information from those dates will be included in the next, scheduled information posting.