COVID-19 Update For June 21: 998,779 Vaccines Administered, 48 New Cases, 79 Recoveries, Two New Deaths

Released on June 21, 2021

Vaccines Reported

Effective today, vaccine reporting numbers have returned to a 48-hour reporting period and thus will appear lower today.  The vaccine administration reporting timeline was adjusted to a 24-hour period Friday, Saturday and Sunday in order to provide the most up to date information to support a decision on the ability to move to Step 3 of the Re-Open Roadmap.

As of end of day Saturday, June 19, there were an additional 961 vaccinations administered in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 998,779.

The additional 961 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered to residents living in the following zones: Far North West, 35; Far North Central, 2; Far North East, 25; North West, 11; North Central, 53; North East, 42; Saskatoon, 236; Central West, 15; Central East, 58; Regina, 343; South West, 15; South Central, 24; and South East, 70.  There were 32 doses administered with zone of residence pending.

Eighty per cent of those over the age of 40+ have received their first dose.  Seventy-four per cent of those 30+ have received their first dose.  Seventy per cent of those 18+ have received their first dose, while sixty-nine per cent of those 12+ have also received their first dose. 

Note: Age is calculated on the date of the most recent dose.  Someone age 69 at their first dose and 70 at their second will now be counted in the 70-79 group for both doses, resulting in a decrease in the 60-69 first dose number. 

All vaccine administration details for the province, including first and second doses, can be found at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness.

Second Dose Schedule 

Anyone who received their first dose on or before May 15 is eligible for their second vaccine starting today, Monday, June 21.

Second doses are also available in the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District to all residents 18+, based on the product's recommended interval from their first dose.

Individuals diagnosed with or being treated for cancer and those who have received solid organ transplants will receive a letter of eligibility in the mail that will allow them priority access to a second dose. 

A limited number of first doses of AstraZeneca have been administered since May 5 to those individuals who have contraindication for mRNA vaccines.  If you received AstraZeneca as recommended by your health care provider after May 5, arrangements will be made to administer your second dose based on current, recommended intervals.

When all persons 12 and older become eligible to receive their second doses starting June 24, second doses can be completed any time after 28 days.  With the Delta variant circulating in Saskatchewan, it remains recommended that all residents receive second dose vaccinations as soon as you are eligible. 

Remember that while one dose of COVID-19 vaccine provides good protection against transmission, two doses are required for optimal protection.  Please receive your second dose as soon as you are eligible and maintain all public health measures until at least two weeks after your second dose.

Vaccination appointments can be booked through the Saskatchewan Health Authority online at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19 or by calling 1-833-SaskVax (1-833-727-5829).

A map of participating pharmacies across the province is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-pharmacies.  This online tool includes links to pharmacy booking websites and provides details on the vaccine brand being offered at each location.

For street addresses and hours of operation for drive-thru and walk-in clinics, see www.saskatchewan.ca/drive-thru-vax.

As the SHA is encouraging first dose vaccinations, please review clinic information carefully to ensure you are selecting the right clinic for you. 

If you do not know the date of your first dose or have misplaced the wallet card provided at the time of your first dose, 1-833-SaskVax can provide you with that date, or check your Immunization History on your MySaskHealthRecord account.

There may be clinic options outside your community and residents are encouraged to consider those alternate locations for immunization.  Additional stops should be avoided if possible when travelling to another community for an appointment.  More clinics will be added as new vaccine shipments are received.

During your second-dose appointment, the clinic or pharmacy will validate the timing and brand of your first dose to ensure you are receiving your second dose within the recommended timeframe.  The type of vaccine available at each location will be advertised.  Additional information on how to book your appointment is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-booking.

Daily COVID-19 Statistics

There are 48 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on June 21, bringing the provincial total to 48,490 cases.  One case tested out-of-province was added to the Regina zone.

The new cases are located in the following zones: Far North West, 5; Far North East, 1; North West, 3; North Central, 10; Saskatoon, 6; Central West, 2; Regina, 15; South Central, 3; and South East, 1.  Two cases are pending residence information.

Two new deaths were reported today, both in the 80+ age group.  One death was reported in the North Central Zone.  The other death was reported in the North West zone.

Recoveries total 47,214 and 711 cases are considered active.

There are 76 people in hospital.  This is the lowest number of hospitalizations since November 18, 2020.  Sixty-five are receiving inpatient care: Far North West, 1; North West, 8; North Central, 6; Saskatoon, 28; Central East, 2; Regina, 16; and South Central, 4.  Eleven people are in intensive care: North Central, 2; Saskatoon, 4; Central East, 1; and Regina, 4. 

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 case number is 69 (5.6 per 100,000).  This is the lowest seven-day average since October of 2020.  A chart comparing today's average to data collected over the past several months is available at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness/covid-19/seven-day-average-of-new-covid-cases.

There were 1,518 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on June 20, 2021.

To date, 902,790 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan.  As of June 19, 2021, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan's per capita rate was 760,472 tests performed per million population.  The national rate was 950,166.

As of June 20, 11,971 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the following zones: Far North West, 291; Far North Central, 1; Far North East, 84; North West, 777; North Central, 616; North East, 79; Saskatoon, 2,079; Central West, 145; Central East, 641; Regina, 4,774; South West, 400; South Central, 885; and South East, 1,127.  There are 72 screened VOCs with residence pending.

Zero new lineage results were reported for Variants of Concern today.  Of the 6,814 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 6,417 are Alpha (B.1.1.7), 282 are Gamma (P.1), 105 are Delta (B.1.617.2) and 10 are Beta (B.1.351).

Confirmed variant of concern cases may appear in both columns on the website, depending on testing for that case.  Adding the cases identified by screening and those that have received whole genome sequencing may result in double-counting individual cases.

Further statistics on the total number of cases among health care workers, breakdowns of total cases by source of infection, age, sex and region, total tests to date, per capita testing rate and current numbers of confirmed variants of concern can be found at http://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-cases.

Enforcing Public Health Measures 

Public health orders are enforced by public health inspectors, the Ministry of Health enforcement team and police agencies.  If compliance cannot be achieved through education, enforcement can include the issuance of tickets or the laying of charges.

On June 15, the Ministry of Health enforcement team issued an individual ticket for $2,800 for failure to comply with a public health order for failure to isolate.  Note that under The Health Information Protection Act, the Ministry of Health cannot disclose the names of individuals who have received fines.

For more information on the current public health measures or to see the Public Health Order, visit www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-measures.

Saskatchewan's Re-Opening Roadmap - Step Two Now Underway

Saskatchewan has now entered Step Two of re-opening, with in-person gathering limits increasing across a number of sectors and for private gatherings.

More information on the changes within Step Two of the Re-Opening Roadmap are available at www.saskatchewan.ca/re-open-roadmap.

Guidance for individual sectors has been updated and is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/re-open.

Saskatchewan's Re-Opening Roadmap - All Public Health Measures To Be Lifted July 11

With more than 70 per cent of residents over the age of 18 having received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, the full implementation of Step 3 of the Re-Opening Roadmap will occur on Sunday, July 11.

That means that as of Sunday, July 11, all public health orders will be removed.  This includes the removal of the province-wide mandatory masking order, and the removal of limits on events and gathering sizes. 

General COVID-19 Information

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

Know your risk.  Keep yourself and others safe: www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-know-your-risk.

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For more information, contact:

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