Sask. reports 94 new COVID-19 cases; doesn't meet Step 3 vaccine target
Saskatchewan reported 94 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, along with 70 recoveries and zero new deaths.
Sixty-nine per cent of people 18 and older have their first dose of the vaccine. The province has been stuck at 69 per cent since Sunday. It has to hit 70 per cent by June 20 in order to begin Step Three by July 11.
Though the government did not report any deaths, one person in the 80-plus age group from Regina was removed from the COVID-19 related deaths count, bringing the total number down to 561.
The new cases are in the Far Northwest (four); Far Northeast (one); Northwest (nine); North Central (seven); Northeast (five); Saskatoon (25); Central West (11); Central East (two); Regina (nine); Southwest (three); South Central (seven); and Southeast (four) zones.
There are 87 people in hospital across the province – the lowest number since mid-November. Nine of those patients are in intensive care in the Saskatoon (six) and Regina (three) zones.
The seven-day average of new daily COVID-19 cases is 75. There are 752 active cases across the province.
VACCINES
There were 15,402 doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered Wednesday, bringing the total to 937,737.
The province is expecting 89,880 doses of the Moderna vaccine this week.
The government said Pfizer adjusted its delivery schedule for Canada and will see lower allocations than projected. The province said it does not yet know how Saskatchewan’s Pfizer delivery will be impacted.
45+ ELIGIBLE FOR 2ND DOSE OF COVID-19 VACCINE
Second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are available in Saskatchewan for residents age 45 and older or anyone who received their first dose on or before May 1, as of 8 a.m. Thursday.
The age eligibility for Northern Saskatchewan Administration District is now 18 years and older for second doses regardless of when they received their first dose.
Other individuals who are eligible for their second doses – including anyone diagnosed with or being treated for cancer, or anyone who has received a solid organ transplant – will receive a letter.
VARIANTS OF CONCERN
The province said labs identified another 60 COVID-19 cases to be variants of concern, bringing the total to 11,847.
The dominant variant continues to be the Alpha variant, which was first identified in the U.K. There are 6,134 identified Alpha cases, 231 are Gamma, first seen in Brazil, and 68 are the Delta variant first identified in India.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.