Sask. records 113 new COVID-19 cases, more than half in the Far Northeast

REGINA -

Saskatchewan reported 113 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday – the highest new case count in over a month.

The government attributed the increase to an outbreak in the Hatchet Lake area, which is in the Far Northeast zone. The zone accounted for 58 of the 113 new cases Thursday. In a press release, the province said positive case data entry has been delayed as local staff respond to the outbreak.

Hatchet Lake is under Northern Inter-Tribal Health Agency (NITHA) jurisdiction. The government said the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has reached out to offer assistance and support the outbreak response in the community, adding that vaccinations are being offered door-to-door.

COVID-19 IN SASK.

The 113 new cases the province recorded Thursday are in the Far Northwest, (two); Far North Central (three); Far Northeast (58); Northwest (two); North Central (two); Saskatoon (16); Central West (one); Central East (two); and Regina (12) zones. There are 15 cases pending residence location, according to the province.

There are 62 COVID-19 patients in hospital; 11 are in the ICU in the Northwest (one); North Central (three); Saskatoon (four); and Regina (three) zones.

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 42. There are 415 active cases across the province.

VACCINATIONS

Health-care workers have administered an additional 13, 312 doses of COVID-19 vaccine. The province said more than half a million Saskatchewan residents are fully vaccinated.

Seventy-one per cent of eligible residents age 12 and older have their first dose, and 51 per cent are fully vaccinated.

VARIANTS OF CONCERN

The province said labs identified seven additional COVID-19 cases to be variants of concern, bringing the total in Saskatchewan to 12,231.

According to a press release, there are no new confirmed variant cases. Of the 7,515 variant cases confirmed through whole genome sequencing, 6,816 are Alpha (B.1.1.7), 385 are Gamma (P.1), 304 are Delta (B.1.617.2) and 10 are Beta (B.1.351).

The government said the number of confirmed cases of the highly contagious Delta variant have increased “significantly” in the last two weeks. It urged residents to get two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for “optimal protection.”