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
NDP wants Liberals to scrap proposed election date change that could secure pensions for many MPs
The federal New Democrats want to amend the Liberal government's electoral reform legislation to scrap the proposal to push back the vote by a week and consequently secure pensions for dozens of MPs, CTV News has learned.
Drive one of these vehicles? You may pay 37 per cent more than average insurance costs due to thefts
As the number of auto theft incidents rises in Canada, so have insurance premiums for drivers, even the ones whose vehicles aren't stolen.
Doug Ford suggests immigrants behind Jewish school shooting
Ontario Premier Doug Ford suggested immigrants are to blame for the shooting of an empty Jewish school in Toronto over the weekend, despite police saying they have little information on the suspects.
Melanie Joly 'forward-leaning' in debate on Ukraine using NATO arms inside Russia
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly is suggesting Canada would support a policy of allowing Ukraine to use NATO-provided arms inside Russia.
Fast-paced, highflying SailGP blows into Halifax for weekend competition
Ten countries, including Canada, each with teams of six sailors, are battling head-to-head on Halifax Harbour this weekend for the Canadian debut of SailGP (Grand Prix).
Donald Trump can sue niece over NY Times article, court rules
A New York state appeals court said Donald Trump can sue his niece Mary Trump for giving the New York Times information for its Pulitzer Prize-winning 2018 probe into his finances and his alleged effort to avoid taxes.
Shania Twain shares how she forgave her ex-husband's cheating: 'It's his mistake'
Shania Twain recently addressed the infidelity that rocked her marriage to Robert 'Mutt' Lange, whom she divorced in 2010 after he had an affair with her friend, Marie-Anne Thiébaud.
A pair enjoyed pricey meals and bolted when it was time to pay. Their dine and dash ended in jail
A Welsh couple who dined out on pricey meals and bolted when the bill came is now paying the price, behind bars.
Supreme Court won't hear appeal in Montreal brainwashing experiments case
The Supreme Court of Canada will not review a Quebec ruling that bars people from suing the U.S. government in Canada over its role in notorious brainwashing experiments at a Montreal psychiatric hospital.