Latest COVID update Jan. 26: Hospitalizations climb back over 300

Three Saskatchewan residents were being treated for COVID-19 in neonatal or pediatric intensive care units in the province.

In its daily update Wednesday, the Ministry of Health didn’t provide any details about those patients, including their ages. They were three of 315 people with COVID in Saskatchewan health-care facilities.

That was the highest number of hospitalizations in the province since there were 322 COVID patients on Oct. 21.

There were 33 people in intensive care units, including the three in the PICU or NICU.

The ministry also reported 1,444 recoveries, 1,194 new cases and six deaths.

Three people in the 60-to-79 age group and three individuals aged 80 or over died. Two of those six people were from the southwest zone, with one from each of the Saskatoon, central-east, south-central and southeast regions.

To date, the government has announced the deaths of 983 Saskatchewan residents due to COVID.

A look at the numbers

As of Tuesday, Saskatchewan had the second-highest rate of new COVID cases in the country, at 746 per 100,000 people. Only Prince Edward Island’s rate was higher, at 1,064 per 100,000.

The new cases reported Wednesday were in the Saskatoon (342), Regina (227), southeast (129), central-east (99), northwest (62), north-central (43), south-central (37), northeast (29), southwest (28), central-west (23), far northwest (22), far northeast (13) and far north-central (two) zones.

The hometowns of 138 new cases weren’t immediately known.

The new cases reported were identified through tests done by health-care officials or were positive test results reported by individuals to public health. The actual number of new cases in the province could be higher.

The new cases in the Saskatoon zone were detected in 808 tests for a rate of 42.3 per cent. The rate in the Regina region was 38.0 per cent.

Of the new cases reported Wednesday, 616 were fully vaccinated (meaning they were more than 14 days since their second shot), 325 were fully vaccinated and more than 14 days from getting their booster, 203 were unvaccinated or were fewer than 21 days removed from their first dose, and 50 had received their first dose or were fewer than 21 days from receiving their second dose.

To date, 112,693 cases have been reported in Saskatchewan along with 99,262 recoveries. The active case count dropped by 204 to 12,448, the third straight day it decreased.

The 315 hospitalizations included 121 inpatient admissions due to a COVID-related illness, 127 that were incidental COVID infections, and 34 that hadn’t yet been determined.

The 33 ICU admissions comprised 28 for COVID-related illnesses (including the three in PICU/NICU), four for incidental COVID infections, and one that was undetermined.

The number of people in hospital in the Saskatoon region dropped by four from Tuesday’s single-day record high of 150. Regina’s hospitalizations rose by eight from Tuesday’s total and stood at 71.

There were 622 first doses of COVID vaccine and 1,224 second doses administered in the latest reporting period. To date, more than 1.85 million shots have been given in Saskatchewan, including nearly 890,000 second shots.