22 COVID-19 deaths reported in Sask., 417 in hospital

Saskatchewan reported 22 COVID-19 deaths for the week of April 10-16 – up by two from the previous update.

Of the 22 deaths, eight deaths occurred during March 24 to April 9 but were reported this week. More than 86 per cent of the 22 deaths were among those 70-years-old and up.

In an interview with CTV News, Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said hospitalizations and long term care home outbreaks are his biggest concern right now.

Dr. Shahab said booster shots have seen a low uptake compared to some other provinces and countries, which is some of the reason why pressures on hospitals remains high.

“In April, we’re seeing a bit of a resurgence and this is because more than 60 per cent of our isolates as reported [Thursday] are Omicron B.A.2, which is similar to B.A.1 but it is unfortunately more transmissible. It’s not more severe, so I think unfortunately that is continuing to put a lot of pressure on our acute care systems,” Shahab said.

“The main issue is that we do have a lower booster uptake. Anyone 12 and older should think about getting a booster four months after their second dose and this is especially important for the people we’re seeing ending up in hospital.”

He said in all age groups, the majority of people in hospital with COVID-19 are unvaccinated.

A total of 417 people are in hospital related to COVID-19 as of April 20, up 14 from last week. Of that, 160 are for a COVID-19 related illness, 225 are an incidental COVID-19 infection and 32 are under investigation. Twenty-five people are in ICUs.

Although more than 50 per cent of patients in hospital with COVID-19 are incidental, Dr. Shahab said it’s still putting strain on health care workers.

He said staff are facing staffing issues as they are getting sick themselves and there are extra resources required even though patients may be in hospital for other reasons originally.

Shahab said we’ve been in a plateau for several weeks, but predicting when it could end isn’t easy.

“I think we should all get out of the prediction business now,” he said. “If we hadn’t seen B.A.2, we should have been coming down from our surge by now.”

In the U.K., Shahab said B.A.2 cases are trending down now, but that country had a much higher booster uptake in adults than Saskatchewan has seen.

A total of 890 lab confirmed cases were also reported, which is down from 1,050 from the last update, which reflects 0.7 per 1,000 population compared to 0.9 from the previous week.

There were 539 new variant lineage results reported, up from 375 from the last update. Of those 539 variants of concern, 100 per cent were Omicron with the BA.2 sublineage accounting for 61.4 per cent.

There were 18 confirmed COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care homes and care home settings.

As of April 16, 85.8 per cent of the population five years and older has received at least one dose of vaccine, with 80.8 per cent having completed two doses.

Among the population 18 and older, 51.7 per cent have at least one booster shot.

NEW COVID-19 TREATMENT AVAILABLE

Remdesivir has been authorized by Health Canada as a new option for COVID-19 treatment.

Currently, Remdesivir is available for residents who are 70 years and older or are immunocompromised who have tested positive for COVID-19. It is also available for those 18-years-old and older who are not fully vaccinated or for those who are not in hospital and don’t need oxygen.

Treatment of Remdesivir needs to be given within seven days of a positive COVID-19 test but should only be considered after Paxlovid due to easier access.

According to a release from the Government of Sask., the oral antiviral Paxlovid treatment continues to be available by prescription if you test positive for COVID -19 and meet the criteria for eligibility.

For more information, visit www.saskatchewan.ca/covid-19 or call HealthLine 811.