The number of COVID-19 patients in Saskatchewan hospitals has fallen to a seven-month low.
The Ministry of Health said Tuesday there were 72 hospitalizations due to COVID in the province, the fewest since 71 people were in hospital on Nov. 17.
The ministry also reported 52 new COVID cases, 54 recoveries and two deaths.
A person in their 60s from the northwest zone and an individual in their 70s from the north-central zone are the latest fatalities due to the virus. To date, 568 Saskatchewan residents have died as a result of COVID-19.
There were 8,617 COVID vaccinations reported, including 7,700 second shots and 917 first doses. It was the second straight day Saskatchewan announced fewer than 1,000 first doses had been administered.
So far, 413,888 people have received both doses and are considered fully vaccinated.
A look at the numbers
The hospitalizations included 12 people in intensive care — five in Saskatoon, three in the north-central zone and two in each of the northwest and Regina regions.
The 60 people receiving inpatient care were spread between the Saskatoon (28), Regina (16), north-central (nine), northwest (four), central-west (one), central-east (one) and south-central (one) zones.
The number of new cases was triple that reported Monday, but there also were 449 more tests done than the previous day.
The latest new cases were reported in the Regina (13), northwest (12), north-central (nine), Saskatoon (eight), far northwest (seven), central-west (two) and far northeast (one) regions.
To date, there have been 48,823 cases reported in Saskatchewan.
The seven-day average of new cases stands at 46, the lowest it has been since it was 46 on Oct. 23.
So far, 12,122 cases of variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan. Of the 7,155 variant cases with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing, 6,634 are Alpha, 322 are Gamma, 189 are Delta and 10 are Beta.
The latest recoveries increase that total to date to 47,791. The active caseload stands at 464.
Vaccination update
The latest shots were given in the Saskatoon (3,498), Regina (2,535), central-east (632), north-central (507), northwest (342), central-west (199), southeast (171), northeast (144), south-central (136), southwest (128), far northwest (56), far northeast (22) and far north-central (eight) zones.
The hometowns of 239 recipients are being determined.
To date, Saskatchewan has doled out 1,136,300 doses of COVID vaccine.