Saskatchewan’s death toll rises by 4; 3 confirmed coronavirus variant cases detected

The provincial government announced on Tuesday that Saskatchewan’s total of confirmed COVID-19 variant of concern cases to six and another is presumptive.

Two more cases of B.1.1.7 — which was first discovered in the United Kingdom — have been detected among Regina zone residents, according to a press release. Officials said the two were tested at the end of January and there is no link to travel at this time but public health is investigating.

One person in north central, who was also tested at the end of January, has resulted in the province’s first case of B1.351, first discovered in South Africa, according to the release.

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The government said there is a presumptive case of B1.1.7 in a person who was transferred from out-of-province to Saskatoon for acute care. They added whole genome sequencing will need to be completed to confirm the results.

According to the release, if required, public health will alert the general public to any risk due to any confirmed case of a variant of concern.

Four more people who tested positive for COVID-19 have died, bringing Saskatchewan’s total deaths related to the pandemic up to 376. Health officials said three of the recently deceased were reported in the 80-plus age group from the Regina (2) and Saskatoon (1) zones while the other was in their 70s and from Regina.

According to the government on Tuesday, there were 122 new cases with the overall infection total in Saskatchewan now at 27,923. The new seven-day average of daily cases is down to 156.

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The province’s hospitals are currently providing care for 174 patients with COVID-19 — 158 are receiving inpatient care and 16 are in intensive care.

Active cases, which are total cases minus recoveries and deaths, now sit at 1,530 in Saskatchewan, according to the press release.

The number of people who have recovered from the virus has grown to a total of 26,017 following 244 more recoveries, provincial health officials said.

According to the press release, 1,872 COVID-19 tests were performed on Monday. To date, 563,055 tests have been carried out in the province.

A total of 19,795 second doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Saskatchewan, provincial government officials said.




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Premier Scott Moe, VIDO-InterVac director Dr. Volker Gerdts and Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Shahab, are expected to provide updates during a COVID-19 briefing at 3 p.m.

Global News will stream the press conference live on our website.

More to come…

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 coronavirus page.


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