COVID-19 Update: 78 New Cases, 29 in Hospital, 81 Recoveries

Released on October 31, 2020

There are 78 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on October 31, 2020, bringing the total to 3,144 cases.  The new cases are located in the Far North West (2), North West (3), North Central (7), North East (6), Saskatoon (41), Central East (1), and Regina (18) zones.

Public health investigations are underway to determine the source of transmission for all new cases.  Of the 3,144 reported cases, 739 are considered active.  A total of 2,380 people have recovered.

Twenty-nine people are in hospital.  Twenty-three people are receiving inpatient care; two in the North West, six in the North Central zone, one in the North East zone, eight in the Saskatoon zone and six in the Regina zone.  Six people are in intensive care; one in the North Central zone, four in Saskatoon and one in Regina.

Of the 3,144 cases in the province:

• 364 cases are travelers;
• 1,546 are community contacts (including mass gatherings);
• 793 have no known exposures; and
• 441 are under investigation by local public health.

Overall in Saskatchewan to date:

• 99 cases are healthcare workers; however, the source of the infections may not be related to healthcare in all instances.
• 623 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, while the remainder are adults.
• 1,146 cases are in the 20-39 age range; 887 are in the 40-59 age range; 406 are in the 60-79 age range; and 82 are in the 80-plus range.
• 51 per cent of the cases are females and 49 per cent are males.
• 25 deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported to date.
• There are:
  • 802 cases from the Saskatoon area
  • 624 cases from the north area (193 north west, 294 north central, 137 north east)
  • 500 cases from the south area (229 south west, 215 south central, 56 south east)
  • 440 cases from the far north area (386 far north west, 0 far north central, 54 far north east)
  • 381 cases from the central area (196 central west, 185 central east)
  • 395 cases from the Regina area
  • Two cases have pending residence location

To date, 263,053 COVID-19 tests have been performed in Saskatchewan.  As of October 29, 2020 when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 176,818 people tested per million population.  The national rate was 251,039 people tested per million population.

Yesterday, 2,720 COVID-19 tests were performed in Saskatchewan.

Halloween

If you participate in Halloween activities, do so safely. For all age groups, consider gathering outdoors, or virtually, if possible.  Saskatchewan’s case numbers continue to rise with parties and gatherings in private settings, bars and nightclubs linked to further case escalations.  Gatherings must be kept as small as possible or connect virtually.

For young adults: Don’t host or attend large events that exceed gathering size limits.  This includes house parties and public events.  It is strongly recommended that if you are going to a nightclub or bar, visit one location only and keep your group small. Pub crawls are strongly discouraged.

For teens and parents: Parents are advised to strongly discourage their teens from hosting or attending Halloween parties that exceed current size limits.

For parents of younger children: please follow Halloween Trick-or-Treating guidelines (including door-to-door and Mall/Retail Trick-or-Treating) Haunted Houses and Pumpkin Patches, and visit https://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-halloween.

Activities that do not follow public health orders or Reopen Saskatchewan Guidelines have been shown to be possible “superspreaders” and hosts/businesses can be fined under The Public Health Act, 1994.

It is recommended that all bars/nightclubs/licensed establishments take names and contact information of all patrons to assist contact tracing in the event of possible transmission.

Nightclubs

Saskatoon nightclub owners/managers are reminded of the public health order now in effect.

• The consumption of alcohol in all nightclubs is prohibited from the hours of 10 p.m. to 9:30 a.m. for all persons, including patrons, staff, and owners;
• Nightclubs must be closed to patrons at 11 p.m. until at least 9:30 a.m. the following day.  Takeout food services are permitted.

All nightclubs in Saskatchewan are to adhere to the following guidelines:

• Six patrons to a table or booth.
• Static seated groupings – no mingling among groups/tables.
• Karaoke and dance floors remain prohibited.
• Business owners and operators must ensure physical distancing within their establishments.
• As outlined in the Re-open Saskatchewan Guidelines, mask use is required for staff. It is strongly encouraged for patrons until they are seated.

It is recommended that all bars/nightclubs/licensed establishments in Saskatchewan take names and contact information of all patrons to assist contact tracing in the event of possible transmission.

If there is conflict between the Re-Open Saskatchewan Guidelines and the Public Health Order, the requirements under the Public Health Order prevail. Owners/event planners/hosts are encouraged to reach out to the Business Response Team for advice if they have further questions.

COVID-19 Testing

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, including drive-thru testing locations, is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-testing.

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