Latest COVID update Jan. 4: 2 deaths, 286 new cases

Two additional COVID-19-related deaths are being reported by the province.

One resident in the 80-and-over age range from the far northeast and another from the northeast in the 70-to-79 age range have passed away after contracting the virus. That brings the total number of deaths in Saskatchewan related to the virus up to 160. That equates to a fatality rate of one per cent.

The number of new cases has again outpaced recoveries, with 286 positive tests reported Monday and only 96 recoveries. As a result, the number of active cases in the province has risen above the 3,000 mark once again to 3,027.

New cases were reported in the north-central (63), Regina (48), far northeast (46), Saskatoon (41), far northwest (18), northwest (17), southeast (nine), central-east (eight), south-central (eight), northeast (five), central-west (five), far north-central (one), and southwest (one) areas. Another 16 cases have no residence information determined yet.

There remain 180 people in hospital in Saskatchewan, including 35 in intensive care spread between the Regina (16), Saskatoon (10), north-central (five), northwest (two), south-central (one) and central-east (one) regions.

Other hospitalizations are located in Saskatoon (42), Regina (42), north-central (30), northwest (10), central-east (six), southeast (five), south-central (three), northeast (three), southwest (one), central-west (one), far northeast (one) and far northwest (one) areas.

There now have been 771 health-care workers diagnosed with COVID.

The province’s vaccination plan is proceeding, with 4,013 doses of the Pfizer vaccine provided to health-care workers in Regina and Saskatoon. The rollout will add Prince Albert, the far northwest and far north-central zones this week, as both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be provided to eligible health-care staff and long-term and personal care home residents.

Mass gatherings remain far and away the biggest factor in the spread of COVID in Saskatchewan, with 49 per cent of contacts (7,944) the result of community transfer, including mass gatherings. Another 23 per cent of cases (3,803) have no known exposures, and four per cent (647) are travel-related. Nearly a quarter of cases (3,973) are still under investigation.

Testing has fallen far short of the province’s daily goal of 4,000 tests, with only 1,485 processed tests reported in Monday’s update.