Premier Scott Moe made a startling statement when it comes to the increased amount of cases we are seeing of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan. 50 new cases were announced on Wednesday meaning there are now 322 active cases with a majority of those cases coming from Hutterite colonies across the province. Of those 50 new cases, 44 come from a colony in the RM of Star City near Melfort.

The 50 new cases are also the second-highest daily total to date in Saskatchewan. Moe says recent numbers show just how bad this situation is getting and how seriously it needs to be taken.

The infection rate is above 5 per cent in the affected Hutterite colonies, which the Premier says is the highest rate in North America that he is aware of. Moe also said that while some Saskatchewan Hutterites have been following the safety protocols set out, others are refusing to do so and that mindset must change for the good of all or the situation will only worsen. (CKRM)

Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Health says the number of new cases is the result of aggressive contact tracing and increased testing. Of Wednesday’s 50 new infections, 44 are located in the North region of the province, three in the South, two in Regina and one in the Central region…bringing the overall total to 1,268 cases of the novel coronavirus. Twenty-two more recoveries were reported for a total of 929, leaving 322 active cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan. Of those active cases, 15 are in hospital. Five of the hospitalized infections are in Intensive Care…three in Saskatoon and two in Regina. There are 10 cases of the virus receiving inpatient care…four in the South region, three in Saskatoon, two in the Central region and one in Regina.

Of the 1,268 cases in the province:

• 202 cases are travellers;
• 617 are community contacts (including mass gatherings);
• 299 have no known exposures; and
• 150 are under investigation by local public health.

Overall in Saskatchewan:

• 61 cases are health care workers; however, the source of the infections may not be related to health care in all instances.
• 347 of the cases are from the Far North, 270 from the South, 239 are from the Saskatoon area, 180 from the North, 140 from the Central region and 91 from the Regina area. One case’s location is still pending.
• 202 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, while the remainder are adults.
• 416 cases are in the 20-39 age range; 394 are in the 40-59 age range; 215 are in the 60-79 age range; and 41 are in the 80-plus range.
• 51 per cent of the cases are females and 49 per cent are males.
• 17 deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported to date.

To date, 95,024 COVID19 tests have been performed in Saskatchewan. As of July 27, 2020, when other provincial and national numbers were available from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 69,095 people tested per million population. The national rate was 103,732 people tested per million population.

On Tuesday, 1,355 COVID-19 tests were performed in Saskatchewan.