There are 60 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan bringing the provincial total to 1,030 cases to date.
Of the 60 new cases, 48 of those are from the Hutterite colonies in the southwest and west central regions. Forty-three of those 48 are in a colony in the RM of Lawtonia. The largest community in the RM of Lawtonia is Hodgeville.
Premier Scott Moe says we could see similar case numbers in other communities in the near future.
“These case numbers are very concerning but they are not entirely unexpected. This large number of cases was detected as a result of the aggressive testing and the contact tracing that the Saskatchewan Health Authority has been doing in a number of Hutterite communities in the province. And that work is ongoing.”
There are currently 17 Hutterite communities with active cases in 17 different Rural Municipalities.
Of the 1,030 reported cases, 190 are considered active. There are also four cases in Saskatoon, two in the Far North region and one in the North region.
Thirteen people are in hospital. Ten people are receiving inpatient care; six in Saskatoon, two in the South and two in the North. Three people are in intensive care; two in Saskatoon and one in the South.
The government says it is working with all communities where there is a significant number of cases to enact further restrictions on non-essential travel which includes travel between Hutterite communities.
There are currently 17 Hutterite communities with active cases in the following Rural Municipalities:
Auverge (No. 76)
Biggar (No. 347)
Carmichael (No. 109)
Eagle Creek (No. 376)
Grandview (No. 349)
Harris (No. 316)
Kindersley (No. 290)
Lawtonia (No. 135)
Maple Creek (No. 111)
Newcombe (No. 260)
Perdue (No. 346)
Pleasant Valley (No. 288)
Prariedale (No. 321)
Saskatchewan Landing (No. 167)
St. Andrews (No. 287)
Tramping Lake (No. 380)
Webb (No. 138)
Of the 1,030 cases in the province:
189 cases are travellers;
532 are community contacts (including mass gatherings);
184 have no known exposures; and
125 are under investigation by local public health.
Overall in Saskatchewan:
58 cases are health care workers; however, the source of the infections may not be related to health care in all instances.
344 of the cases are from the Far North, 216 are from the Saskatoon area, 173 from the South, 125 from the North, 87 from the Regina area and 85 from the Central region.
154 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, while the remainder are adults.
349 cases are in the 20-39 age range; 320 are in the 40-59 age range; 174 are in the 60-79 age range; and 33 are in the 80-plus range.
51 per cent of the cases are females and 49 per cent are males.
15 deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported to date.
To date, 84,916 COVID19 tests have been performed in Saskatchewan. As of July 20, 2020, when other provincial and national numbers were available from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 61,924 people tested per million population. The national rate was 96,217 people tested per million population. Testing continues to be performed at a high rate, with 1,240 COVID-19 tests being conducted yesterday.
Travel in Affected Communities
Last week, everyone was asked in the affected areas to take the following steps to protect yourself and others, and reduce further spread of COVID-19:
1. Stay in your home community as much as possible.
2. Self-isolate and get tested if you are feeling unwell at all.
3. Self-isolate and get tested if you have been in contact with anyone who is known to have tested positive.
4. Limit your interpersonal contacts and group gatherings as much as possible.
Given the continued increase of active cases, the Government of Saskatchewan is working with the leaders of all communities where a significant number of cases exist to enact further restrictions on all non-essential travel into and out of their communities. This includes travel between Hutterite communities. It is recognized that some essential travel will be required and that will be limited to a small number of designated individuals for each community.
COVID-19 Testing
COVID-19 testing is now available to anyone who requests it, regardless of whether they have symptoms or not. A referral for testing can be made by contacting HealthLine 811.
