2 deaths and 48 new COVID-19 cases in Sask.
The Saskatchewan government reported 48 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, along with 79 recoveries and two deaths.
The two people who died were both in the 80-plus age group. One was from the Northwest zone and the other was from the North Central zone.
The new cases are in the Far Northwest (five); Far Northeast (one); Northwest (three); North Central (10); Saskatoon (six); Central West (two); Regina (15); South Central (three); and Southeast (one) zones. Two cases are pending residence location information.
Key indicators continue to drop in Saskatchewan. The seven-day average of new cases is 69 – the lowest it’s been since Oct. 31. There are 711 active cases in the province, another number Saskatchewan hasn’t seen since late October.
Hospitalizations are also steadily trending downwards. There are 76 COVID-19 patients in hospital across the province, which is the lowest since Nov. 18. Eleven of those patients are receiving ICU care in the North Central (two); Saskatoon (four); Central East (one); and Regina (four) zones.
VACCINES
The province added 961 vaccinations to Saturday’s tally on Monday.
In a release, the government said the vaccine numbers appeared lower on Monday because it returned to a 48-hour reporting time frame for vaccinations after shifting to a 24-hour reporting period on Friday, Saturday and Sunday “in order to provide the most up to date information to support a decision on the ability to move to Step 3 of the Re-Open Roadmap.”
According to data from the government, 70 per cent of people was 18 and older have their first dose, along with 69 per cent of people age 12 and older.
VARIANTS OF CONCERN
The province said 16 more COVID-19 cases were identified as variants of concern, bringing the total number of variant cases in the province to 11,971.
Of the 6,814 variant cases with identified lineages, 6,417 are Alpha (B.1.1.7), 282 are Gamma (P.1), 105 are Delta (B.1.617.2) and 10 are Beta (B.1.351).
2ND DOSE ELIGIBILITY
Starting 8 a.m. Monday morning, second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be available for anyone in the province who got their first dose on of before May 15.
Everyone who has a first dose will be eligible to receive a second after 28 days on Thursday.
MASK MANDATE ENDS JULY 11
All public health restrictions – including the mask mandate and gathering limits – will be lifted in Saskatchewan on July 11.
The government made the announcement Sunday as 70 per cent of people age 18 and older and 69 per cent of people 12 and older have their first shot.
The province had said it will lift the mask mandate and restrictions on gathering limits three weeks after 70 per cent of people age 12 and older have received their first dose.
In a video posted on Twitter, Premier Scott Moe said the province will hit the final threshold in the next few days.
STEP 2 UNDERWAY
Saskatchewan began the second phase of its reopening plan Sunday as certain public health measures loosened across the province.
Step 2, which was triggered when 70 per cent of people age 30 and older got their first dose, will see capacity limits in stores lifted and restaurants will no longer have a limit on the number of people allowed to sit together at a table.
Fifteen people will now be allowed at private indoor gatherings. There will be a 150 person limit at public and private outdoor gatherings.
Step 3 of Saskatchewan’s reopening plan will go ahead on July 11 after the province hit its vaccination target Saturday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.