REGINA -- The Saskatchewan government reported 146 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, along with 147 recoveries and no new deaths.

The new cases are in the Far Northwest (two); Far Northeast (two); Northwest (10); North Central (11); Northeast (one); Saskatoon (52); Central East (18); Regina (26); Southwest (two); South Central (eight); and South East (12) zones. There is one new case pending residence information.

There are 319 active cases in Regina, the lowest count the city’s seen since mid-November.

 

There are 138 people in hospital across the province, 26 of those people are receiving intensive care. COVID-19 patients are in the ICU in the North Central (two), Saskatoon (nine) and Regina (15) zones.

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 169. There are 1,785 active cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan.

VACCINES

Healthcare workers administered 4,777 doses of COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday. So far, 620,236 shots have been given in the province and 51,559 people are fully vaccinated against the virus.

As on Thursday, 68 per cent of residents age 30 and older have received their first dose.

 

The Saskatchewan government has lowered the COVID-19 vaccination age to include people age 12 and older as of 8 a.m. Thursday morning. This applies to all Saskatchewan residents including those who live in the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District, where age eligibility was previously 18 and older.

Those eligible can visit a drive-thru or walk-in clinic, or book an appointment through the SHA’s portal or with a participating pharmacy.

Second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are now available for Saskatchewan residents age 85 and older and those who had their first dose before Feb. 15. Residents with specific medical conditions or requirements are also eligible for their second shot.

VARIANTS OF CONCERN

Labs identified an additional 132 COVID-19 cases to be variants of concern (VoC) through screening, according to the province, bringing the total number of VoC to 9,687.

The government reported 262 new lineage results Thursday. Of the 4,848 variant cases that have been whole genome sequenced, 4,735 are confirmed to be the B.1.1.1.7 variant first seen in the U.K.; 96 are P.1, which was first identified in Brazil; 10 are B.1.351, the variant first seen in South Africa; and seven are B.1.617, the newly identified variant first found in India.