81 new COVID-19 cases in Sask.; 1 death
Saskatchewan recorded 81 new COVID-19 cases Friday, along with one additional death and 98 recoveries.
The person who died was in 80-plus age range and from the Saskatoon zone. There have been 554 COVID-related deaths in Saskatchewan since the beginning of the pandemic.
The new cases are in the Far Northwest (three); Far Northeast (four); Northwest (13); North Central (seven); Northeast (three); Saskatoon (17); Central East (three); Regina (14); Southwest (seven); South Central (seven); and Southeast (two) zones. One case is pending residence information.
There are 104 people in hospital across the province; 17 of those people are in the ICU in the Northwest (one); North Central (four); Saskatoon (six); Central East (one); Regina (four); and Southwest (one) zones.
The seven-day average of new daily cases is 78. There are fewer than one thousand active cases in the province for the third day in a row as the government reported 899 active cases Friday.
VACCINES
The province said there were 15,212 vaccines given Thursday, bringing the provincial total to 860,651.
Healthcare workers have given 682,242 first doses and 178,409 second doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Second doses continue to pick up speed in the province – the number of fully vaccinated residents has increased 282 per cent in the past 30 days.
The province announced an accelerated second dose schedule Friday. Everyone age 12 and older will be eligible to get their second dose by the end of June.
As of Friday, 68 per cent of people age 18 and older have received their first dose, while 66 per cent of residents age 12 and older have their first shot.
VARIANTS OF CONCERN
The government did not report any additional COVID-19 cases as variants of concern. As of Thursday, the government said labs have identified 11,504 cases to be variants of concern.
Labs have confirmed the variant type of 6,199 variant cases through whole genome sequencing. The dominant variant type in Saskatchewan continues to be the Alpha variant – also known as the B.1.1.7 variant first identified in the U.K. To date, 5,932 Alpha variant cases have been confirmed across the province.
2ND VACCINE DOSE ELIGIBILITY DROPS TO 55+
Saskatchewan residents 55 years and older are eligible to receive their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine, effective 8 a.m. Thursday.
The expanded eligibility also includes anyone who received their first dose on or before April 7.
Second dose eligibility for residents of the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District remains at 40 years and older.
REGINA DROP IN VACCINE CLINIC FOR STUDENTS, FAMILIES
The SHA is opening a drop-in vaccine clinic geared towards Regina students, their families and caregivers, on Friday.
“Students are out of school for the most part [on Friday], so we thought this would be a great day if parents are home with their kids to be able to come on down and get their vaccines,” Laveena Tratch, the SHA’s Vaccine Section Chief for Regina, said in an interview with CTV Morning Live Regina Thursday.
The clinic, located at the International Trade Centre at Evraz Place, will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.