Saskatchewan recorded its fewest number of new cases of COVID-19 in almost five weeks and its lowest positive test rate in two weeks, according to Tuesday’s dashboard on the provincial government website.

The latest update had 242 new cases from 2,378 tests for a 10-point-two per cent positive test rate. The 242 new cases was the lowest since 199 new cases were reported on August 30th.

The 10.2 positive rate is the lowest since a 9.9 per cent reading on September 21st.

Coupled with 482 recoveries and Saskatchewan’s active case count of the novel coronavirus went down by 250 from Monday to 4,385 Tuesday.

However, there were 15 more individuals in hospital from Monday, at 340, including 73 infections being treated in an I-C-U.

Plus, there were 10 new COVID-19-related fatalities, bringing the provincial death toll to 726.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Government and its Ministry of Health once again used their weekly COVID-19 news release to hammer at not being fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus is what boosts the numbers, illustrating that with month-of-September and the latest weekly statistics.

The monthly statistic the province pushed was that approximately 78 per cent of all new cases and hospitalizations in Saskatchewan in September were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people.

The weekly report said 27,364 doses of vaccine were administered, resulting in 73 per cent of eligible provincial residents being fully vaccinated and 82 per cent of people aged 12-and-over having received at least one shot.

Approximately 78 per cent of all new cases and hospitalizations in Saskatchewan in September were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people.

The government stresses that transmissible diseases like COVID-19 are opportunistic:  they will spread to and among under – and unvaccinated populations.  Increased transmission in the community will result in higher breakthrough infections.

The Ministry of Health has updated the COVID-19 vaccination and breakthrough information for September 1-30. Highlights include:

• Of the 13,141 cases reported in September, 10,237 (77.9 per cent) were unvaccinated or tested positive within three weeks of receiving their first vaccination.  Nine hundred and thirteen cases (6.9 per cent) were partially vaccinated with one dose, while 2,904 cases (22.1 per cent) were fully vaccinated. Of the 2,904 cases with a second dose, 11 per cent (320) had comorbid conditions and 21.2 per cent (616) were 70 years and older.
• Of the 449 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19, 348 (77.6 per cent) were unvaccinated or tested positive within three weeks of receiving their first vaccination. Twenty cases (4.5 per cent) were partially vaccinated with one dose, while 101 cases (22.5 per cent) were fully vaccinated.
• Of the 449 individuals hospitalized in September, 13 were 19 years and younger and 12 were 12 years and younger.
• Of the 83 individuals admitted to ICU, 73 (87.9 per cent) were unvaccinated or tested positive within three weeks of receiving their first vaccination. Two cases (2.4 per cent) were partially vaccinated with one dose, while 10 cases (12 per cent) were fully vaccinated.
• Of the 83 individuals admitted to ICU, four were 19 years and younger and two were 12 years and younger.
• Among the cases reported in September, 72 individuals passed away; 35 were unvaccinated or less than three weeks after their first vaccination.

All vaccination and breakthrough data reports are available in the COVID-19 vaccination information at Saskatchewan.ca.

Note that this vaccination and breakthrough analysis for September is based on cases that were reported in September.  This methodology has consistently been utilized for all monthly vaccination and breakthrough reports.

COVID-19 Summary for October 5, 2021: 

• From September 29 – October 5, 27,364 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 1,576,702.
• As of October 5, 82 per cent of those 12+ have received their first dose and 73 per cent of those 12+ are fully vaccinated.
• There were 2,988 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan from September 29 – October 5, bringing the provincial total to 69,331 cases. Three thousand two hundred and ninety-three recoveries were recorded during the same period.
• The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan is currently 427 (35.4 per 100,000).
• Forty-four new deaths were reported September 29 – October 5.
• There were 533 new lineage results reported for September 29 – October 5.
• As of October 5, there are 340 people in hospital: 267 are receiving inpatient care and 73 are in intensive care. Two hundred and fifty-nine of the people in hospital (76 per cent) are not fully vaccinated.
• From September 29 – October 5, there were 23,659 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan.

Daily provincial COVID-19 statistics by age, date and geographic zones including active cases, recoveries, confirmed variants of concern and vaccination information can be found at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-cases.

Highlights