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COVID-19 Update for March 19: 125,062 Vaccines Administered, 174 New Cases, 108 Recoveries, Three New Deaths

Vaccines Reported

An additional 6,867 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 125,062.  To date, this is the highest one-day total for vaccine delivery in the province.

The 6,867 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered in the following regions: Far North West (483), Far North Central (10), Far North East (410), North Central (87), North East (383), Saskatoon (639), Central West (131), Central East (1051), Regina (3,307), South West (196), South Central (0), and South East (397).  North West reported 49 doses administered yesterday but removed 276 in a data correction, for a net today of -227.  Of the doses administered March 18, 2,107 were delivered at the Regina drive thru clinic location alone.  

For a listing of first and second doses in Saskatchewan administered by geographic zone, visit https://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-update.

Currently, residents 67 years and older can book their COVID-19 vaccination appointments online or by phone.  As of March 18, 84,333 appointments have been booked using the new appointment systems: 63,295 online and 21,038 by telephone.  

Additional information on eligibility and how to book your appointment is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/vaccine-booking.

Drive-thru Vaccination Clinic in Regina Expanded to Residents Aged 60 to 69.

Following the updated National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) guidance that residents older than 65 may receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, and the favorable uptake, the drive-thru immunization clinic in Regina is now available to residents aged 60 to 69.  

The drive-thru clinic is located on the grounds of the Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. (Lewvan Drive and 11th Avenue) and is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis for the eligible age group.  You cannot pre-book an appointment for the drive-thru clinic.

It is anticipated that this age range will continue to expand rapidly, and eligible residents are asked to check the website regularly for the latest: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/vaccine-booking.

Daily COVID-19 Statistics

There are 174 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on March 19, bringing the provincial total to 31,259 cases.

Three Saskatchewan resident who tested positive for COVID-19 have died.  The deaths were reported in the 80+ age group from the Central West zone (1), the 60-69 age group from the Far North West zone (1), and the 50-59 age group from the Far North Central zone.

The new cases are located in the Far North East (3), North West (8), North Central (8), North East (11), Saskatoon (20), Central East (12), Regina (86), South West (4), South Central (6) and South East (11) zones.  Five (5) new cases are pending residence information.  Three (3) cases with pending residence information were assigned to the North Central (1) and Central West (2) zones.

There are a total of 29,500 recoveries and 1,345cases are considered active.  

One hundred thirty-three (133) people are in hospital.  One hundred and six (106) people are receiving inpatient care: Far North West (3), Far North East (1), North West (5), North Central (6), Saskatoon (42), Central East (6), Regina (37), South West (1), South Central (3) and South East (2).  Twenty-seven (27) people are in intensive care: Saskatoon (10), Central East (3), Regina (13) and South Central (1).

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 128 (10.4 new cases per 100,000).  A chart comparing today’s average to data collected over the past several months is available on the Government of Saskatchewan website.  Please visit https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness/covid-19/seven-day-average-of-new-covid-cases.

There were 3,635 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on March 18, 2021. 

To date, 624,171 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan.  As of March 17, 2021, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 523,254 tests performed per million population.  The national rate was 690,706 tests performed per million population.

As of March 19, there are twenty-one (21) new confirmed variants of concern (VOC) cases to report.  There are 156 confirmed variants of concern cases in Saskatchewan: 149 B1.1.1.7 (UK) and seven B1.351 (SA).  The Regina zone accounts for 141 (or 90 per cent) of the confirmed VOC cases reported in Saskatchewan.

In addition to the confirmed cases, there are currently 508 presumptive VOC cases reported in the Far North East (1), Saskatoon (13), Central East (6), Regina (434), South Central (30) and South East (24) zones.

Further statistics on the total number of cases among healthcare workers, breakdowns of total cases by source of infection, age, sex and region, total tests to date, the per capita testing rate and current numbers of confirmed variants of concern can be found on the Government of Saskatchewan website.  Please visit https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/cases-and-risk-of-covid-19-in-saskatchewan.

Act to Reduce COVID-19 Transmission in Regina

There is an elevated risk of COVID-19 in Regina due to community transmission of variants of concern.

It is recommended that Regina and area residents – particularly those over age 50 – should not consider increasing their household bubbles to include 2-3 households up to 10 people.  They should consider remaining with their current household only.

While worship services throughout the province will be able to expand to 30 per cent of capacity or 150 people, whichever is the lesser number starting March 19, places of worship in Regina and adjacent communities will remain at the current capacity level which is a maximum of 30 individuals, with required physical distancing and masking guidelines.  This will remain in effect until April 5, 2021 and will be evaluated at that time.

The adjacent communities include: Belle Plaine, Pense, Grand Coulee, Lumsden Beach, Regina Beach, Craven, Lumsden, Edenwold, Pilot Butte, White City, Balgonie, Kronau, Davin, Gray, Riceton, RM of Lajord, RM of Edenwold, RM of Sherwood, RM of Pense, and RM of Lumsden.

All residents of Regina, those who work in Regina and area and those who are planning travel to the region, are asked to abide by all best personal protective measures at this time to avoid further restrictions.  Minimize the risk in the city and throughout the region.  

  • Wear your mask in all public places including all workplaces
  • Wash non-medical masks daily
  • Maintain physical distancing
  • Wash your hands frequently
  • Reduce activities outside of your home.  Order take-out or curbside pick-up.  If you are able to work from home, work from home at this time.
  • Avoid all unnecessary travel to and from Regina

If you have any symptoms, stay home and arrange for a COVID-19 test.  If anyone in your home has symptoms, the entire household should remain home until the test results are known.  Testing information is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/testing-information.

Enforcing Public Health Measures

Enforcement of public health orders is permitted under The Public Health Act, 1994.  Public health inspectors will be supported in their efforts to ticket violators to ensure that businesses and events are brought into compliance as quickly as possible, in addition to the enforcement efforts that have been undertaken by police agencies throughout the province.

For more information on the current public health measures or to see the Public Health Order, visit www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-measures.

General COVID-19 Information

General public inquiries may be directed to COVID19@health.gov.sk.ca.

Know your risk.  Keep yourself and others safe.  www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/about-covid-19/know-your-risk.