Sask's top doctor not surprised by rise in COVID-19 cases
Saskatchewan’s active cases of COVID-19 have increased by 471 per cent in the past month, fuelled mostly by the Delta variant.
The rapid increase in cases doesn’t require additional restrictions in the province, according to Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer.
"Given how effective vaccines are, if it is a choice between ramping up vaccines, incentivizing getting vaccinated and encouraging mask use, these two things have no economic impact and these are the two things to emphasize right now," Dr. Saqib Shahab said.
The province removed all public health measures on July 11 and saw active cases drop to 242 by July 20, the lowest point since Oct. 13, but active cases have now climbed to 1,381 as of Friday, the most since June.
"We obviously saw a very rapid rise in the U.K., which like us had increasing vaccination rates and in the U..K, they have seen some increase in hospitalizations, so we watched that closely," Dr. Shahab said.
High vaccine uptake in the 40-plus age group has helped slow the increase in hospitalizations for Saskatchewan, but Dr. Shahab said that risk is increasing.
"The more our case numbers go [up], there’s a lower, but still significant, risk of hospitalization," he said. "The more case numbers go up, even fully vaccinated people can then become at high risk, even though, the majority will not get seriously ill."
Saskatchewan started this week with 73 people in hospitals with COVID-19, including nine patients in intensive care. That has since increased to 84 people and 15 in ICU as of Friday.
Dr. Shahab said the majority of hospitalizations are middle aged adults that are unvaccinated.
"We really need to do everything with 12-and-over getting vaccinated in order to keep our case numbers down," Dr. Shahab said.
The province’s top doctor is also recommending residents begin wearing masks again in public places, whether you’re vaccinated or not.
"You're more likely to transmit COVID or be exposed to COVID if you're unvaccinated and get seriously ill, but as we've seen from the U.S. data, that if you're vaccinated, you can still get mildly symptomatic and for a brief duration, still transmit COVID," he said.
"When you're in large public place, when you don't know if everyone's vaccinated, it just makes sense to put the mask on."
Dr. Shahab reiterated that with school starting in a few weeks, residents need to protect themselves with a vaccine dose to ensure those 12-and-under, who are ineligibly for a shot aren’t at risk.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
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.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
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.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye make it four NFL drafts with quarterbacks going 1-3
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.