Today’s COVID-19 provincial update includes 36 new cases of the virus, 57 recoveries and another person who tested positive has died. The individual was in the eighty and over age group and was from the Northwest. There are 403 active cases of the virus in Saskatchewan, with a total to date of confirmed cases at 49,198.

The province says rapid testing is being conducted in Hatchet Lake because of the outbreak in that northern community. Hatchet Lake falls under the jurisdiction of the Northern Inter-Tribal Health Agency, but the SHA has reached out to offer assistance. The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency is also coordinating with the federal government to potentially bring in extra resources.

Vaccines Reported

An additional 12,678 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 1,273,245.  Over half a million Saskatchewan residents are now fully vaccinated.

The additional 12,678 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered to residents living in the following zones: Far North West, 108; Far North Central, 38; Far North East, 189; North West, 1,121; North Central, 836; North East, 239; Saskatoon, 3,756; Central West, 421; Central East, 930; Regina, 3,038; South West, 416; South Central, 437; and South East, 753.  There were 396 doses administered with zone of residence pending.

Seventy-two per cent of those 12+ have received their first dose and 53 per cent of those 12+ are fully vaccinated.

Covered Population Update

The Saskatchewan Health Coverage Report is a count of persons who were eligible for Saskatchewan health insurance benefits as of June 30, and is the population data utilized by the Ministry of Health when reporting COVID-19 case and vaccination rates.  The covered population data is updated annually and will be incorporated into COVID-19 reporting starting today for the COVID-19 vaccination rates at the provincial level for 12+ population and the age groups.  Note that the other reports will continue to utilize the 2020 covered population numbers in the provincial dashboard until the new data set is fully incorporated with a complete update targeted for the week of July 11.  All vaccine administration details for the province, including first and second doses, can be found at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness.

All Residents 12+ Eligible for COVID-19 First and Second Dose Immunizations

All Saskatchewan residents 12 years and older who have received their first dose of vaccine are now eligible to receive their second dose following a 28-day interval.

Whether seeking your first or second dose, vaccination appointments can be booked through the Saskatchewan Health Authority online at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19 or by calling 1-833-SaskVax (1-833-727-5829).  Street addresses and hours of operation for drive-thru and walk-in clinics are available at www.saskatchewan.ca/drive-thru-vax.

A map of participating pharmacies across the province is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-pharmacies.  This online tool includes links to pharmacy booking websites and provides details on the vaccine brand being offered at each location.

Daily COVID-19 Statistics

There are 36 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on July 9, bringing the provincial total to 49,198 cases.

The new cases are located in the following zones: Far North West, 4; Far North East, 4; North West, 3; North Central, 5; North East, 2; Saskatoon, 4; Regina, 5; South West, 4; and South East, 4.  One case is pending residence information. Fifteen cases were reassigned to the following zones: Far North East, 11; and North Central, 4.  Ten cases, which were Saskatchewan residents tested out-of-province, were added to the following zones: Far North West, 1; Far North East, 1; North West, 5; Saskatoon, 1; Central East, 1; and South Central, 1.

One new death was reported today in the 80+ age group from the North West zone.

Recoveries total 48,224 and 403 cases are considered active.

There are 61 people in hospital.  Fifty-one are receiving inpatient care: North West, 6; North Central, 6; Saskatoon, 20; Central West, 1; Central East, 1; Regina, 14; South Central, 1; and South East, 2.  Ten are in intensive care: North Central, 2; Saskatoon, 4; and Regina, 4.

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 case number is 45 (3.7 per 100,000).  A chart comparing today’s average to data collected over the past several months is available at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness/covid-19/seven-day-average-of-new-covid-cases.

There were 2,544 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on July 8, 2021.

To date, 932,412 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan.  As of July 7, 2021, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 784,733 tests performed per million population.  The national rate was 979,207.

In response to the outbreak at Hatchet Lake, rapid testing is being conducted to support case contact identification.  Data entry of those results into the provincial system has been delayed while staff work on the immediate outbreak response.  It is anticipated the case data entry will continue throughout the weekend.

While Hatchet Lake falls under the jurisdiction of the Northern Inter-Tribal Health Agency, the SHA has reached out to offer assistance to the local health teams to support the outbreak response.  Currently, voluntary mass testing is underway as part of active case finding, vaccinations are being offered door-to-door, and local public health officials and community leaders are actively working together on communicating risk, preventative measures and the importance of vaccinations.  The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency has also been engaged and is coordinating with the federal government in potentially securing further resources.

There were 80 lineage results reported for Variants of Concern today.  Of the 7,667 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 6,911 are Alpha (B.1.1.7), 398 are Gamma (P.1), 348 are Delta (B.1.617.2) and 10 are Beta (B.1.351).

Confirmed variant of concern cases may appear in both columns on the website, depending on testing for that case.  Adding the cases identified by screening and those that have received whole genome sequencing may result in double-counting individual cases.

Provincial COVID-19 statistics on the total number of cases among health care workers, breakdowns of total cases by source of infection, age, sex and region, total tests to date, per capita testing rate and current numbers of confirmed variants of concern can be found at http://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-cases.

Limit Transmission of Variants of Concern in your Community – Get Vaccinated

The number of confirmed cases of the Delta variant has increased significantly in the last two weeks.  The Delta variant is assumed to be 1.5 times more transmissible and twice as virulent as the Alpha variant.

Two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are required for optimal protection against the Delta variant.  Residents are strongly encouraged to get their first and second doses as soon as possible.

Getting tested also assists the monitoring of active cases and variants of concern in the province.  Even if experiencing mild symptoms, stay home and seek a COVID-19 test.  COVID-19 testing is available to all residents.  You can receive a referral for COVID-19 testing through HealthLine 811 or a health care provider, and drive-thru testing sites are available without a referral seven days a week in Regina, Saskatoon, Yorkton and Prince Albert.  Information on symptoms to watch for and how to get tested is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-testing.

Saskatchewan’s Re-Opening Roadmap – All Public Health Measures to Be Lifted July 11

With more than 70 per cent of residents over the age of 12 having received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, the full implementation of Step 3 of the Re-Opening Roadmap will occur on Sunday, July 11.

That means that as of Sunday, July 11, all public health orders will be removed.  This includes the removal of the province-wide mandatory masking order, and the removal of limits on events and gathering sizes.

For the guidance on Living with COVID-19, including the expectations around masking, information for businesses and w