COVID-19 Update: Five Deaths, 159 New Cases, 125 in Hospital, 249 Recoveries

Released on December 23, 2020

Five residents who tested positive for COVID-19 have died.  Two deaths in the 70-79 age group were in the Regina (2) zone.  Three deaths in the 80+ age group were in the North West (1), Central East (1) and Regina (1) zones.

There are 159 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on December 23, 2020, bringing the provincial total to date to 14,101 cases.

The new cases are located in the Far North West (14), Far North East (8), North West (24), North Central (24), North East (8), Saskatoon (21), Central East (1), Regina (50), South West (3) and South East (2) zones.  Four new cases have pending residence information.

Of the cases, 3,850 cases out of the 14,101 cases are considered active.  A total of 10,121 individuals have recovered.

One hundred and twenty-five people are in hospital.  One hundred and four people are receiving inpatient care: two in the Far North West, four in the North West, 18 in the North Central, three in the North East, 43 in the Saskatoon, one in the Central West, four in the Central East, 23 in the Regina, two in the South West and four in the South East zones.  Twenty-one people are in intensive care: one in the North West, six in the North Central, nine in the Saskatoon, four in the Regina and one in the South West zones.

As of December 22, 1,597 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine have been provided to health care workers in Regina as part of the initial pilot and Saskatoon as part of Phase 1.

Of the 14,101 cases in the province:

• 603 cases are travelers;
• 6,862 are community contacts (including mass gatherings);
• 3,237 have no known exposures; and
• 3,399 are under investigation by local public health. 

Overall in Saskatchewan to date:

• 610 cases are healthcare workers; however, the source of the infections may not be related to healthcare in all instances. 
• 3,043 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, while the remainder are adults. 
• 4,994 cases are in the 20-39 age range; 3,627 are in the 40-59 age range; 1,825 are in the 60-79 age range; and 607 are in the 80-plus range. Confirmation of age is pending for five cases. 
• 50 per cent of the cases are female and 50 per cent are male. 
• 130 deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported to date.

Of 14,101 confirmed cases: 

• 4,056 cases are from the Saskatoon area
• 3,318 cases are from the north area (1,306 north west, 1,546 north central, 466 north east)
• 2,789 cases are from the Regina area
• 1,509 cases are from the south area (554 south west, 525 south central, 430 south east)
• 1,519 cases are from the far north area (857 far north west, 106 far north central, 556 far north east)
• 872 cases are from the central area (331 central west, 541 central east)
• 38 cases have pending residence information

To date, 413,147 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan.  As of December 21, 2020 when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 251,161 people tested per million population.  The national rate was 352,605 people tested per million population.

Yesterday, 2,531 COVID-19 tests were processed in Saskatchewan.

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 215 (17.7 new cases per 100,000 population) and is now available on the Government of Saskatchewan website.  This chart compares today’s average to data collected over the past several months.  Please visit https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness/covid-19/seven-day-average-of-new-covid-cases.

Public Health Measures Effective December 25

For more information on the public health measures that take effect Friday, December 25, or to see the Public Health Order, visit https://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-measures.

Drive-thru Testing Sites’ Holiday Hours

As we move through the holiday season, please be aware that the COVID-19 drive-thru testing sites will have modified hours. Please check the Government of Saskatchewan website for all of the dates and times for drive-thru testing: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/testing-information.

Case Information Posting through December

The daily provincial case information, including news release and dashboard, will be posted December 24; December 27; and December 29 through December 31.  Updates will not be available on December 25, 26, 28 and January 1. Case information from those dates will be included in the next, scheduled information posting. 

General COVID-19 Information

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

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For more information, contact:

Health
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4083
Email: media@health.gov.sk.ca