REGINA -- Saskatchewan reported 37 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. The province specified that technical issues at the The Roy Romanow Provincial Laboratory resulted in lower case numbers than anticipated, due to the delay.

Wednesday’s delayed case numbers will be reported on Thursday.

There are 14 new cases in Regina, 13 in Saskatoon, six in the central east zone and one each in the far northwest, northwest and north central.

One case reported Wednesday has pending location details.

There are 709 cases active out of 3,408 reported to date.

There were 78 new recoveries for a total of 2,584.

There are 26 people in hospital, including 22 receiving inpatient care and four people in ICU.

REGIONALLY

  • 887 cases from the Saskatoon area
  • 715 cases from the north area (222 north west, 350 north central, 143 north east)
  • 504 cases from the south area (230 south west, 215 south central, 59 south east)
  • 453 cases from the Regina area
  • 449 cases from the far north area (394 far north west, 0 far north central, 55 far north east)
  • 397 cases from the central area (197 central west, 200 central east)

The SHA performed 1,101 tests on Tuesday.

MANDATORY MASKS FOR REGINA, SASKATOON AND PA

The province will be mandating masks in some of Saskatchewan’s major cities after reporting 81 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday.

“We all need to take our personal responsibility very seriously,” Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said on Tuesday. “I don’t like wearing a mask more than anyone else, but I’m going to do it to keep those around me and those that I care about safe.”

Starting on Nov. 6, masks will be required in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert when people are in indoor public spaces.

“I know that after eight months of this it’s easy to think that ‘I’m fine, I haven’t gotten COVID yet and even if I do I’ll probably get better quickly,’” Moe said. “That may be true in many of our cases, but it may not be true for the person that you give it to: your mom or your dad, or grandparents or a friend.”

The public health order will be in place for 28 days, then subject to review by the chief medical health officer.