The Saskatchewan government’s update on Wednesday stressed the importance of getting tested as the province’s coronavirus-related death toll grew to 362.
According to a press release, recent guidance from the European Centre for Disease Control and the increased risk of variants of concern in Canada has resulted in a policy update: if symptomatic, get tested immediately and anyone who receives a negative test result but continues to experience symptoms should be retested.
Read more:
How prevalent are variants? A closer look at what — and where — they are in Canada
Government officials said high rates of testing allow public health to effectively track transmission and effective self-isolation as well as contact investigations will prevent additional COVID-19 cases.
According to the press release, 1,800 COVID-19 tests were performed on Tuesday. To date, 549,077 tests have been carried out in the province.
Five more people who tested positive for COVID-19 have died. Three of the recently deceased were reported in the 80-plus age group from the north west, Regina and Saskatoon zones, according to a press release. Another was reported in their 50s from the Regina zone, while the fifth was in their 30s and from Saskatoon.
According to the government on Wednesday, there were 124 new cases with the overall infection total in Saskatchewan now at 26,953. The new seven-day average of daily cases is down to 160.
Health officials said most of the new cases are located in the Regina zone (48), followed by far north west (16), north west (14), north central (12), Saskatoon (9), far north east (5), central west (5), far north central (4), central east (3) as well as one in south central. Residence information is still pending for seven new infections.
Read more:
Healthcare Heroes: chief medical officer describes COVID-19’s impact
The province’s hospitals are currently providing care for 178 patients with COVID-19 — 155 are receiving inpatient care and 23 are in intensive care.
Active cases, which are total cases minus recoveries and deaths, now sit at 1,541 in Saskatchewan, according to the press release. This is the lowest number since 1,427 were reported on Nov. 13.
The number of people who have recovered from the virus has grown to a total of 25,050 following 189 more recoveries, provincial health officials said.
A total of 14,013 second doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Saskatchewan, provincial government officials said.
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus. In some provinces and municipalities across the country, masks or face coverings are now mandatory in indoor public spaces.
Find full COVID-19 coverage on the Global News website.