COVID-19 Update: 13 New Cases, 12 In Hospital

Released on July 17, 2020

There are 13 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on July 17, bringing the total to 936 cases.  The new cases are located in the Far North (1), North (1), Central (8), South (1) and Regina (2) regions.

Of the 936 reported cases, 128 are considered active.  A total of 793 people have recovered.

There are two new recoveries, one in the Far North and one in the South.  However, three cases were removed from recovered status and reactivated.  This can happen if public health determines an individual has relapsed or developed additional symptoms.

Twelve people are in hospital.  Eleven people are receiving inpatient care; seven in Saskatoon, two in the South, one in the North and one in the Central region.  One person is in intensive care in the South.

Of the 936 cases in the province:

• 182 cases are travellers;
• 514 are community contacts (including mass gatherings);
• 155 have no known exposures; and
• 85 are under investigation by local public health.

Overall in Saskatchewan:

• 59 cases are health care workers; however, the source of the infections may not be related to health care in all instances.
• 340 of the cases are from the Far North, 204 are from the Saskatoon area, 122 from the North, 116 from the South, 87 from the Regina area and 67 from the Central region.
• 130 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, while the remainder are adults.
• 323 cases are in the 20-39 age range; 292 are in the 40-59 age range; 163 are in the 60-79 age range; and 28 are in the 80-plus range.
• 51 per cent of the cases are females and 49 per cent are males.
• 15 deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported to date.

To date, 78,990 COVID‐19 tests have been performed in Saskatchewan.  As of July 15, 2020, when other provincial and national numbers were available from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 57,786 people tested per million population.  The national rate was 90,126 people tested per million population.

Domestic Flights

Travel information related to COVID-19, including all flights arriving in Saskatchewan with a confirmed case of COVID-19, is available on the Public Health Agency of Canada website.

Two domestic flights have been added:

• AC 8629 Toronto-Saskatoon on July 9. 
• WS605 Toronto-Regina on July 6.

The list of Affected Flights is also available on www.saskatchewan.ca.

All passengers who have travelled on a domestic flight with a confirmed case of COVID-19, and who have not also travelled on an international flight, are asked to self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days after their arrival.  All international travellers must self-isolate upon return to Canada.

Re-Open Saskatchewan - Competition and Game Play

While activities resume under the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan, it is important to remember specific guidelines are in place for activities, including sports.

Organizers and participants should remember the following:

• Tournaments and interprovincial competition are not permitted. 
• For sports or activities where participants are unable to adhere to physical distancing, groupings (mini-leagues) should be formed. Mini-leagues can be comprised of multiple teams, but no more than 50 individuals.
• Mini-leagues must be comprised of individuals within the same neighbourhood, community or local geographical region (e.g. within a rural municipality, town, quadrant of a city or nearest community). 
• Game play can resume between teams in a mini-league and must be limited to teams within the same mini-league.
• Teams in different mini-leagues should not play each other.

COVID-19 Testing

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.

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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For more information, contact:

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