There has been a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan which the Ministry of Health says the majority are connected to a wake held June 10 and a funeral on June 11th that were the subject of a precautionary health advisory.
There are 18 new cases of COVID-19 in the province with 13 of those in the Far North, three are in the Saskatoon region and two cases are people who tested positive in Saskatchewan but who live out of province. Health officials say those cases are under further investigation.
Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Officer says the numbers have been lower recently but Dr. Saqib Shahab says it is a reminder COVID-19 is still in Saskatchewan.
Of the 683 COVID-19 cases reported to date, 41 are considered active. Two people are in hospital; one in in-patient care in the North and one person in intensive care in Saskatoon.
Of the 683 cases in the province:
146 cases are travellers;
409 are community contacts (including mass gatherings);
80 have no known exposures; and
48 are under investigation by local public health.
Overall in Saskatchewan:
52 cases are health care workers; however, the source of the infections may not be related to health care in all instances.
277 of the cases are from the Far North, 181 are from the Saskatoon area, 112 from the North, 80 from the Regina area, 19 from the South and 12 from the Central region.
104 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, while the remainder are adults.
240 cases are in the 20-39 age range; 207 are in the 40-59 age range; 114 are in the 60-79 age range; and 18 are in the 80-plus range.
51 per cent of the cases are females and 49 per cent are males.
13 deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported to date.
To date, 56,223 COVID19 tests have been performed in Saskatchewan. As of June 13, 2020, when other provincial and national numbers were available from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 42,439 people tested per million population. The national rate was 57,271 people tested per million population.
Gathering Sizes
The revised Places of Worship Guidelines apply to all worship services, including celebrations of life, weddings and outdoor ceremonies. No food is to be served in any of the above allowed gatherings and physical distancing measures still apply.
Virtual services remain the recommended option for the above services.
Restrictions remain in place for gatherings that are not worship services or graduations.
All other public and private gatherings sizes remain at a maximum of 15 people indoors and 30 people outdoors, while maintaining a two-metre physical separation both indoors and outdoors.
COVID-19 Testing
Testing for COVID-19 is available to anyone currently working outside the home or anyone returning to work as part of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan.
Testing is also available to:
Those being admitted to acute care for more than 24 hours, including expectant mothers.
Immunocompromised individuals and their health care providers.
If you are experiencing symptoms of fever, cough, shortness of breath, headaches, aches and pains, sore throat, chills, runny nose or a loss of your sense of taste or smell, contact HealthLine 811 or your family physician for advice on whether you should be tested for COVID-19.
