The provincial government is reporting over 10,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine given, for a total of 392,294. Fifty-six per cent of residents 40 and over have received their first dose and 37 per cent 18 and over.

Age eligibility for the general population remains at 44, and 40 in the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District. There are 286 new cases of the virus as of Saturday, and there have been two more deaths in people who tested positive for COVID-19. Both were in their seventies and from the Regina zone.

There are 186 people in the hospital and 51 are in intensive care. Regina has 34 people in the ICU. There are now 5,880 variants of concern in Saskatchewan, which is a rise of 189 cases.

Vaccines Reported

An additional 10,159 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 392,294.

The 10,159 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered to residents living in the following regions: Far North West (346), Far North East (253), North West (930), North Central (859), North East (552), Saskatoon (3,277), Central West (458), Central East (529), Regina (627), South West (871), South Central (233) and South East (908). There were 316 doses administered with zone of residence pending.

Fifty-six per cent of Saskatchewan residents age 40+, thirty-seven per cent of Saskatchewan residents 18+ and thirty per cent of Saskatchewan’s total population have received their first dose:

Status of Priority Population Vaccinations, as of April 23, 2021

All vaccine administration details for the province, including first and second doses, can be found on the dashboard at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness. As the source database for vaccine information, Panorama is subject to continuous data updates which may result in revised counts, day over day.

Vaccination Booking System Open to Ages 44+

Eligibility in the provincial age-based immunization program is currently age 44 and older, except for the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District, where it remains age 40 and older. This applies to all immunization clinics: booked appointments, drive-thru/walk-in and mobile.

Please remember that demand for appointments outweighs current available supply. Additional clinics will be added as new vaccine shipments are received.

Appointments can be made online at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19. People who do not have a cell phone or email account, need assistance in booking, or are providing documentation for priority eligibility status must book by calling 1-833-SaskVax (1-833-727-5829). Additional information on how to book your appointment is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-booking.

Please do not call until you are eligible to book your vaccination appointment.

Daily COVID-19 Statistics

There are 286 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on April 24, bringing the provincial total to 39,683 cases. Five (5) cases tested out of province have been added to the Regina (2) and Saskatoon (3) zone totals.

There are two (2) new deaths reported in the 70 to 79 age group from the Regina zone.

The new cases are located in the Far North West (15), North West (28), North Central (25), North East (4), Saskatoon (55), Central West (1), Central East (16), Regina (90), South West (18), South Central (10) and South East (15) zones. Nine (9) new cases have pending residence information. Eleven (11) cases with pending residence information have been assigned to the North Central (2), North West (1), Saskatoon (1) and Regina (7) zones.

There are a total of 36,652 recoveries and 2,558 cases are considered active.

There are 186 people in hospital. One hundred and thirty-five (135) people are receiving inpatient care: Far North East (1), North West (11), North Central (7), Saskatoon (46), Central East (5), Regina (52), South West (3), South Central (3) and South East (7). Fifty-one (51) people are in intensive care: North Central (3), Saskatoon (11), Central East (2), Regina (34) and South West (1).

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 case number was 257 (21.0 new cases per 100,000). A chart comparing today’s average to data collected over the past several months is available on the Government of Saskatchewan website at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness/covid-19/seven-day-average-of-new-covid-cases.

There were 4,321 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on April 23, 2021.

To date, 749,756 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of April 22, 2021, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 628,277 tests performed per million population. The national rate was 804,081 tests performed per million population.

As of April 23, 5,880 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the Far North West (69), Far North East (2), North West (140), North Central (85), North East (10), Saskatoon (600), Central West (77), Central East (248), Regina (3,382), South West (151), South Central (444) and South East (607) zones. There are 65 screened VOCs with residence pending.

There are zero (0) new lineage results reported today. Of the 2,060 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 2,046 are B.1.1.1.7 (UK), nine (9) are B.1.351 (SA) and five (5) are P.1. (Brazilian). The Regina zone accounts for 1,475 (72 per cent) of the VOC cases with confirmed lineage reported in Saskatchewan.

Please note that these VOCs may have been initially identified via means other than screening (i.e. selection for whole genome sequencing without screening) and that whole genome sequencing results to identify lineage are included in the screening results.

Confirmed variant of concern cases may appear in both columns on the website, depending on testing for that case. Adding the cases identified by screening and those that have received whole genome sequencing may result in double-counting individual cases.

Further statistics on the total number of cases among health care workers, breakdowns of total cases by source of infection, age, sex and region, total tests to date, per capita testing rate and current numbers of confirmed variants of concern can be found at http://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-cases.

All Public Health Measures Extended to May 10

Due to increased COVID-19 transmission risk throughout the province, the Chief Medical Health Officer has extended all current provincial public health orders until May 10, 2021. The orders will be reviewed at that time. Full details on current public health measures can be found at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-measures.

All residents are urged to adhere to best personal protective measures:

Wear your mask in all public places including all workplaces
Wash non-medical masks daily
Maintain physical distancing
Wash your hands frequently
Reduce activities outside of your home. Order take-out or curbside pick-up. Work from home if you are able to do so.
Avoid all unnecessary travel throughout the province at this time.
If you have any symptoms, stay home and arrange for a COVID-19 test. If anyone in your home has symptoms, the entire household should remain home until the test results are known. Testing information is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/testing-information.

Enforcing Public Health Measures
Enforcement of public health orders is permitted under The Public Health Act, 1994. Public health inspectors will be supported in their efforts to ticket violators to ensure that businesses and events are brought into compliance as quickly as possible, in addition to the enforcement efforts that have been undertaken by police agencies throughout the province.

For more information on the current public health measures or to see the Public Health Order, visit www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-measures.

General COVID-19 Information

General public inquiries may be directed to COVID19@health.gov.sk.ca.

Know your risk. Keep yourself and others safe: www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/about-covid-19/know-your-risk.