REGINA -- Another person has died from complications related to COVID-19 in Saskatchewan, the province announced on Saturday.

The person was in their 60s and died in Regina, the province said in a news release.

This is the fourth COVID-19-related death in Saskatchewan.

“I am deeply saddened that a fourth Saskatchewan resident has lost their life to COVID-19,” Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said in a teleconference Saturday. “Today’s sad news certainly tempers the positive trend that we are seeing in the case numbers.”

Dr. Saqib Shahab, Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer, said the most recent death was a person in his late 60s with an underlying medical condition. Previously two deaths were in people aged 70 to 79 and one was someone aged 80-years or older.

“This is a reminder that COVID-19 is a serious illness, especially in the elderly and those with underlying health conditions,” said Shahab. “It is everyone’s responsibility to minimize further physical distancing and also by supporting persons who are older or have underlying conditions.”

Health officials also announced four new cases on Saturday, bringing the provincial total to 289.

A presumptive positive case announced on Friday is now confirmed.

 

There are 138 active cases in Saskatchewan. The province says 11 more people have recovered, for a total of 147 recoveries.

Eight people are in hospital, including one in the ICU.

The province says 126 cases are travel-related, 106 are from close contacts or mass gatherings and 22 cases have no known exposure. Public health officials are still investigating 35 cases.

The Ministry of Health says 30 of the province’s case are health-care workers, although the infections may not be related to working in the health-care field.

There are 145 cases in Saskatoon, 60 in Regina, 52 in the north, 15 in the south, 10 in the central region and seven in the far north.

 

The cases are 54 per cent male and 46 per cent female. Eighteen cases are in people under the age of 19, 126 cases are between 20 and 44, 96 are between 45 and 64 and 49 people are older than 65 years old.

 

To date, there have been 18,448 tests performed in Saskatchewan.