Saskatchewan has its first two cases of COVID-19 variant to report in Tuesday’s update from the Ministry of Health. The U-K variant was found in two Regina residents, although both are no longer infectious having quarantined. One person had returned from the United Kingdom while the other person was a close contact.

       Meanwhile, the death toll continues to rise significantly after eight more people who had contracted the novel coronavirus in the province were reported to have passed away in today’s Tuesday’s update. A person in their 40s from the North West zone, another in their 50s from Regina, two people in their 60s from the North West and North Central zones while Saskatoon and the South East zone each had a person in their 70s and a senior in their 80s die because of COVID-19, bringing Saskatchewan’s death toll to 314.

       Otherwise, there were 223 new cases of the virus as opposed to 266 recoveries, meaning the active case count is down slightly Tuesday to 2,320…hospitalization data was not available. Another 106 doses of vaccine were administered Monday in Saskatoon and the Far North East zone for a provincial total of 35,575.

There were 106 COVID-19 vaccine doses administered yesterday in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 35,575.  As of February 2, 109 per cent of the doses received have been administered.  This overage is due to efficiencies in drawing extra doses from vials of vaccine received.

The doses were administered in the following zones: Far North East (33) and Saskatoon (73).  Back-dated corrections submitted for January 29 have realized an additional 22 doses of vaccine administered.

For a listing of first and second doses in Saskatchewan administered by geographic zone, visit https://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-update.

Daily COVID-19 Statistics

There are 223 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on February 2, bringing the provincial total to date to 24,236 cases.

Eight Saskatchewan residents who tested positive for COVID-19 have died.  One reported death was in the 40-49 age group in the North West (1) zone; one reported death was in the 50-59 age group in the Regina (1) zone; two reported deaths were in the 60-69 age group in the North West (1) and North Central (1) zones; two reported deaths were in the 70-79 age group in the Saskatoon (1) and South East (1) zones; and two reported deaths were in the 80+ age group in the Saskatoon (1) and South East (1) zones.

The new cases are located in the Far North West (14), Far North Central (8), Far North East (8), North West (18), North Central (28), North East (7), Saskatoon (38), Central West (6), Central East (3), Regina (65), South Central (7) and South East (8) zones, with thirteen (13) cases pending residence information.

Two Saskatchewan residents who were previously tested out of province have been assigned to the Far North East (2) zone.

A total of 21,602 individuals have recovered and 2,320 cases are considered active.

The Ministry of Health is continuing to update data reporting systems.  As such, hospitalization data will not be available for February 2, 2021.

There were 1,974 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on February 1, 2021.

To date, 512,512 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan.  As of January 31, 2021, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 433,144 tests performed per million population.  The national rate was 568,878 tests performed per million population.

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 and the per capita testing rate can be found on the Government of Saskatchewan website.  Please visit www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/cases-and-risk-of-covid-19-in-saskatchewan.

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 227 (18.5 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.

COVID-19 Variant Detected

The UK COVID-19 variant (B.1.1.7) has been detected in two residents in the Regina zone.

The contact investigation has determined that one case has travelled from the United Kingdom and the second is a close contact of the traveler.  These individuals were tested mid-January.  While the Roy Romanow Provincial Laboratory is testing travelers for variants of concern, those tests must be genome-sequenced at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.  This process can take one to two weeks.

Both residents quarantined following the travel and are now no longer infectious.  Public health’s contact investigation indicates that all contacts of these residents have been identified and there is no indication of further transmission.  If required, public health will issue a public service announcement to alert the general public to any risk due to any confirmed case of a variant of concern.

Non-essential travel is not recommended at this time.  The best protection against all COVID-19 variants remains the same as protection against COVID-19: stay home, physically distance, wash your hands frequently, wear a mask and get tested if you are experiencing even mild symptoms.

The Government of Saskatchewan is considering the impact of variants on COVID-19 planning including any required increase to public health measures and surge capacity planning.