The fewest number of processed tests for COVID-19 in Saskatchewan in over three months led to the highest positive rate of new cases in almost three weeks, yet the actual number of new cases remains low, the seven-day average of new cases continues to drop and the number of active cases of the novel coronavirus in the province continues to decrease. Also, there were no deaths reported in Saskatchewan for a second straight day. According to Tuesday’s update from the Ministry of Health, there were 111 new cases of COVID-19 from 1,543 processed tests for a positive rate of 7.2 per cent. The seven-day average for new cases of the virus is at 139. Coupled with 197 recoveries in Tuesday’s report, that leaves 1,451 active cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan, the fewest since March 21. Of those active cases, 136 people are in hospital, including 30 receiving treatment in an I-C-U.

       Victoria Day Monday saw just 2,339 doses of vaccine administered in the province for a total of 665,193.

LL

05/25/21

Daily COVID-19 Statistics

There are 111 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on May 25, bringing the provincial total to 45,820 cases.

The new cases are located in the following zones: Far North West, 2; North West, 11; North Central, 19; North East, 1; Saskatoon, 45; Central West, 4; Central East, 5; Regina, 15; South West, 2; South Central, 2; and South East, 3.  Two new cases are pending residence information.  Two previously reported cases with pending residence information were added to the North Central zone.

Recoveries total 43,842 and 1,451 cases are considered active.

There are 136 people in hospital.  One hundred and six people are receiving inpatient care: North West, 8; North Central, 5; Saskatoon, 39; Central East, 4; Regina, 44; South West, 1; South Central, 2; and South East, 3.  Thirty people are in intensive care: North West, 2; North Central, 2; Saskatoon, 13; Central East, 1; and Regina, 12.

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 case number is 139 (11.3 new cases per 100,000).  A chart comparing today’s average to data collected over the past few months is available at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness/covid-19/seven-day-average-of-new-covid-cases.

There were 1,543 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on May 24, 2021.

To date, 846,893 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan.  As of May 23, 2021, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 713,022 tests performed per million population.  The national rate was 900,371.

As of May 24, 10,241 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the following zones: Far North West, 235; Far North East, 25; North West, 567; North Central, 391; North East, 58; Saskatoon, 1,582; Central West, 109; Central East, 562; Regina, 4,551; South West, 349; South Central, 711; and South East, 1,035.  There are 66 screened VOCs with residence pending.

There are 205 new lineage results reported today.  Of the 5,636 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 5,471 are B.1.1.1.7 (UK), 126 are P.1 (Brazilian), 29 are B.1.617 (Indian) and 10 are B.1.351 (SA).

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.

Vaccines Reported

An additional 2,339 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 665,193.

The 2,339 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered to residents living in the following zones: Far North West, 5; Far North Central, 11; Far North East, 6; North West, 18; North Central, 46; North East, 15; Saskatoon, 1,026; Central West, 19; Central East, 57; Regina, 958; South West, 37; South Central, 44; and South East, 44.  There were 53 doses administered with zone of residence pending.

Seventy-six per cent of those over the age of 40 have received their first dose.  Seventy per cent of those 30+ have received their first dose.  Sixty-three per cent of those 18+ have received their first dose.

Status of Population Vaccinations, as of May 23, 2021
Group	Estimated Population	Received First Dose	Fully Vaccinated
Age 80+	51,307	45,792 (89%)	18,730 (37%)
Age 70-79	79,818	70,381 (88%)	6,890 (9%)
Age 60-69	138,471	114,363 (83%)	6,607 (5%)
Age 50-59	147,466	104,533 (71%)	7,825 (5%)
Age 40-49	151,896	96,406 (63%)	6,718 (4%)
Age 30-39	183,246	92,598 (51%)	6,658 (4%)
Age 18-29	189,909	70,504 (37%)	4,751 (3%)
Age 12-17	90,987	12,295 (14%)	77 (0%)

All vaccine administration details for the province, including first and second doses, can be found at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness.

Second Dose Booking Available for those Vaccinated on or before March 1

Second dose vaccinations are underway for anyone who is 80 and older or who received their first dose before March 1.  Individuals diagnosed with or being treated for cancer and those who have received solid organ transplants will receive a letter of eligibility in the mail that will allow them priority access to a second dose.

Eligibility to book for second doses is based on age or date of first dose.  Residents who meet at least one of these criteria will be eligible for their second dose.  The following table is a tentative guideline; timelines may change due to vaccine availability:

Astra Zeneca is not included in this table as we await advice on the use of Astra Zeneca for timing of second doses.

Eligibility for 2nd Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine
Date eligibility changes	Eligible Age	OR	Eligible Based on Date of  1st Dose (on or before)
24-May	80	OR	1-Mar
31-May	70	OR	15-Mar
7-Jun	65	OR	22-Mar
14-Jun	55	OR	7-Apr
21-Jun	45	OR	15-Apr
28-Jun	Eligibility opens based on date of first dose only		1-May
5-Jul			15-May
12-Jul			30-May
19-Jul			14-Jun
26-Jul			28-Jun

Second dose vaccination appointments can be booked through the Saskatchewan Health Authority online at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19 or by calling 1-833-SaskVax (1-833-727-5829).

The current list of pharmacies offering vaccinations is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-pharmacies.

For street addresses and hours of operation for drive-thru and walk-in clinics, see www.saskatchewan.ca/drive-thru-vax.

Please do not call until you are eligible to book your vaccination appointment.  If you do not know the date of your first dose or have misplaced the wallet card provided at the time of your first dose, 1-833-SaskVax can provide you with that date, or check your Immunization History on your MySaskHealthRecord account.

There may be clinic options outside your community and residents are encouraged to consider those alternate locations for immunization.  Additional stops should be avoided if possible when travelling to another community for an appointment.  More clinics will be added as new vaccine shipments are received.

During your second dose appointment, the clinic or pharmacy will validate the timing and brand of your first dose to ensure you are receiving your second dose within the recommended timeframe.  The type of vaccine available at each location will be advertised to ensure that you are receiving the same vaccine brand for your second dose.

At this time, public health is planning to offer your second dose of COVID-19 vaccine to match the brand of your first dose.  National reviews of the safety and efficacy of interchanging the second dose brand are on-going and the provincial policy on maintaining the same brand for the second dose may be updated following this review.

Additional information on how to book your appointment is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-booking.