Sarah Mills: Public entities need to be more transparent
Sarah Mills says a single coroner choosing not to release the toxicology report in the case of Saskatchewan Roughrider J...
Saskatchewan reported 87 new cases of COVID-19 and 114 recoveries Wednesday, but no new confirmed cases of variants of concern.
There are 135 confirmed cases of variants in the province — 129 of the United Kingdom variant and six of the South African strain. One of the U.K. cases previously reported was removed from the province’s total since it was a duplicate.
The Regina zone has 121 (or 90 per cent) of the confirmed cases in Saskatchewan. It also has 264 of the 313 presumptive cases.
The Regina area also recorded 27 of the new COVID cases reported Wednesday. The Saskatoon (20), northeast (eight), central-east (seven), far northeast (five), northwest (five), southeast (five), far northwest (two), south-central (two), north-central (one) and southwest (one) zones also reported new cases.
The hometowns of four cases are being determined.
The government once again reminded residents of the Regina area to exercise caution due to the increased presence of COVID variants in the region.
The seven-day average of daily new cases in the province is 135, or 11.0 per 100,000 population. The province’s total number of cases since last March is 30,970 cases.
An individual in the 80-and-over age group from the northwest zone is the 410th Saskatchewan resident to die due to COVID.
There have been 29,296 recoveries reported. The active caseload stands at 1,264, the lowest it has been since Nov. 8.
Of the total number of active cases, 513 are in the Regina region.
There are 139 people in Saskatchewan hospitals, with 31 in intensive care. That number includes 15 cases in the Saskatoon area, 11 in the Regina region, three in the central-east zone and one in each of the northwest and south-central areas.
There were 2,597 tests processed in Saskatchewan on Tuesday, increasing the total so far to 617,664.
Vaccination update
There were 4,096 doses of COVID vaccine delivered in Saskatchewan on Tuesday, including 1,878 at the drive-through AstraZeneca clinic at Regina’s Evraz Place.
The Regina region (2,392) had the most shots given, followed by the Saskatoon zone (635), northwest (576), northeast (133), central-west (131), southwest (75), far northeast (62), north-central (50), far northwest (21), central-east (11) and far north-central (10) zones.
The total number of vaccines administered in the province so far is 112,764.
On Tuesday, 20,197 vaccination appointments — 13,246 online and 6,951 by telephone — were booked through the province’s system.
The government said because the system has worked so well, the province likely will be moving into Phase 2 (people under the age of 70) sooner than expected.
“Those residents over the age of 70 who have not yet made their vaccination appointment are encouraged to book today,” the government said in a media release. “Appointments are still available over the next two weeks, before the end of March.
“Once eligible, you are always eligible, but we want to ensure those at highest risk get their vaccination while they are prioritized in Phase 1.”
Residents between the ages of 50 and 69 in the Northern Administrative District can book their appointments by phone (1-833-727-5829) between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. Northern residents 70 and over can join all other Saskatchewan residents over the age of 70 in booking online or by phone.
St. Patrick’s Day
Since Wednesday is St. Patrick’s Day, the province urged people to be safe by supporting local eateries, but by using takeout and curbside pickup.
The province also suggested gatherings should be held outside, where up to 10 people can get together. They can’t share food or drink, though, and should remain at one location.
