COVID-19 Update: 16 New Cases, Two in Hospital, 20 More Recoveries

Released on October 6, 2020

With a return to more indoor spaces, it’s necessary to examine your extended household and potentially reduce your number of regular contacts.

“As the risk of local transmission increases, now is the time to reset your household and reduce the risk to those who matter most to you,” Saskatchewan Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said.  “We are all now part of other cohorts: in the workplace, at school, at extracurricular activities.  Observing the necessary public health guidance in each of these settings and keeping our close contact list short is a vital step in reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission.”

• Your extended household is the people you can hug and touch, or those who can become part of your daily and weekly routines.  This be should be 15 people or less.  Ideally it is only members of your direct household.
• Assess your extended household. Does it include children in school settings, school staff, essential employees, or vulnerable populations like seniors or those with underlying health conditions? Consider that all of your contacts are now their contacts, too.
• In the event that you are required to provide your activities and contacts as part of a public health contact investigation, can you name all those individuals you have come into close contact with over the last two weeks? If you cannot, adjust your routines and close contacts.
• Stay home from all activities and workplaces even if you are experiencing mild symptoms.

There are 16 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on October 6, bringing the total to 1,984 reported cases.  The new cases are located in the Far North West (1), North Central (1), Saskatoon (6), Central East (3), Regina (2) and South East (2) zones and one (1) case has pending residence location.

Of the 1,984 reported cases, 139 are considered active.  A total of 1,821 people have recovered.

Two people are in hospital.  One person is receiving inpatient care in Saskatoon.  One person is in intensive care in Regina.

Of the 1,984 cases in the province to date:

• 303 cases are travellers;
• 984 are community contacts (including mass gatherings);
• 570 have no known exposures; and
• 127 are under investigation by local public health.

Overall in Saskatchewan to date:

• 76 cases are healthcare workers; however, the source of the infections may not be related to healthcare in all instances.
• 344 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, while the remainder are adults.
• 656 cases are in the 20-39 age range; 607 are in the 40-59 age range; 312 are in the 60-79 age range; and 65 are in the 80-plus range.
• 51 per cent of the cases are females and 49 per cent are males.
• 24 deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported to date.
• There are:
  • 456 cases are from the south area (225 south west, 205 south central, 26 south east)
  • 410 cases are from the Saskatoon area
  • 360 cases are from the far north area (351 far north west, 0 far north central, 9 far north east)
  • 282 cases are from the north area (132 north west, 81 north central, 69 north east)
  • 281 cases are from the central area (176 central west, 105 central east)
  • 194 cases are from the Regina area
  • One (1) case has pending residence location

To date, 203,733 COVID-19 tests have been performed in Saskatchewan.  As of October 4, 2020 when other provincial and national numbers are available from Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 142,435 people tested per million population.  The national rate was 204,720 people tested per million population.

Yesterday, 1,597 COVID-19 tests were performed in Saskatchewan.

COVID-19 Testing

COVID-19 testing is available to anyone who requests it.  A referral for testing can be made by contacting HealthLine 811, your physician or nurse practitioner.  If you require urgent care, call 911.

Further information on testing is available at https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/testing-information.

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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For more information, contact:

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