COVID-19 Update: Six New Cases, Five In Hospital, 20 More Recoveries

Released on August 21, 2020

There are six new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on August 21. One (1) out-of-province non-Saskatchewan case previously counted has been removed, bringing the total to 1,595 reported cases.

The new cases are located in the North West (2), North East (1), Saskatoon (1) and South West (2) zones.

Of the 1,595 reported cases, 134 are considered active. A total of 1,439 people have recovered.

Five people are in hospital.  One person is receiving inpatient care in Saskatoon.  Four people are in intensive care, all in Saskatoon.

Investigations completed thus far have found that 85 of 134 active cases are in communal living settings.

As of August 21, 2020, the total number of cases identified to date in communal living settings is 601. The data provided by the Ministry of Health in previous news releases was not intended to be a cumulative number. Earlier positive cases in communal living settings were included in regular positive case counts. Cases on colony were not reported separately until June 18, when an outbreak was declared in the RM of Maple Creek.

Of the 1,595 cases in the province:

• 229 cases are travellers;
• 821 are community contacts (including mass gatherings);
• 477 have no known exposures; and
• 68 are under investigation by local public health.

  Overall in Saskatchewan:

• 65 cases are healthcare workers; however, the source of the infections may not be related to healthcare in all instances.
• There are:
  • 411 cases from the south area (211 south west, 189 south central, 11 south east)
  • 352 cases from the far north area (346 far north west, 0 far north central, 6 far north east)
  • 257 cases from the north area (123 north west, 68 north central, 66 north east)
  • 250 cases from the Saskatoon area
  • 194 cases from the central area (161 central west, 33 central east)
  • 131 cases from the Regina area
• 261 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, while the remainder are adults. 513 cases are in the 20-39 age range; 491 are in the 40-59 age range; 275 are in the 60-79 age range; and 55 are in the 80-plus range.
• 51 per cent of the cases are females and 49 per cent are males.
• 22 deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported to date.

To date, 127,896 COVID‐19 tests have been performed in Saskatchewan.  As of August 19, 2020, when other provincial and national numbers were available from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 92,138 people tested per million population.  The national rate was 132,331 people tested per million population.

Yesterday, 1,272 COVID-19 tests were performed in Saskatchewan.

COVID-19 Testing

The Saskatchewan Health Authority is working toward increasing capacity in early September.  COVID-19 testing is now available to anyone who requests it, regardless of whether they have symptoms or not.  A referral for testing can be made by contacting HealthLine 811.  Contact your physician’s office if you are experiencing worsening symptoms.  If you require urgent care, call 911.

General COVID-19 Information

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

Find the most up-to-date version of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan at www.saskatchewan.ca/re-open.

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