Neck guard sales jump after Sask. hockey player slashed by skate
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More adult players are now investing in the protective equipment.
Four more Saskatchewan residents who tested positive for COVID-19 have died.
In a media release Friday, the provincial government said three individuals in the 80-and-over age group — one from each of the Regina, north-central and southeast areas of the province — had died. The fourth person was a resident in their 70s who lived in the south-central zone.
Eleven people who had tested positive for COVID have died in the province in the past five days. There have been 44 deaths linked to the virus in Saskatchewan since March.
The government also announced there were 329 new cases in the province, increasing the total to date to 7,691. The seven-day average of new cases is 268, or 22.1 per 100,000 population.
The total number of cases in the province has increased by more than 4,500 since the end of October, when it stood at 3,144.
The cases reported Friday were in the Saskatoon (158), Regina (61), northwest (23), north-central (21), southwest (16), southeast (14), central east (11), far northwest (eight), central-west (six), far northeast (four), northeast (one) and south-central (one) areas.
The hometowns of five cases are being investigated.
A single-day record of 208 recoveries was reported, increasing that total to date to 4,384.
There are 3,263 active cases being reported in Saskatchewan, including 1,057 in the Saskatoon area, 605 in the Regina region, 366 in the north-central zone and 269 in the northwest.
There are 16 people in intensive care units in the province — 11 in Saskatoon, three in Regina and one in each of the northwest and southwest areas.
The 95 people receiving inpatient care are located in Saskatoon (32), the southeast (20), Regina (16), the north-central zone (12), the northwest (eight), the central-east zone (two), the southwest (two), the far northwest (one), the northeast (one) and the south-central region (one).
Rapid point of care testing units added
A pilot program using new rapid point of care testing units — which provide results in 15 minutes — has been started at hospitals in Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Moose Jaw as well as in mobile testing locations.
The tests can determine the status of an asymptomatic individual quickly.
A rapid antigen test pilot project also has been started in some long-term and personal care homes as well as congregate living settings. Those results are available in 15 minutes and can be used, the government said, “for rapid recurrent asymptomatic screening of staff and residents.”
A look at the numbers
The number of health-care workers to have contracted the virus to date rose to 241, an increase of 16 from Thursday’s report. That total was at 99 at the end of October.
The total number of cases in the province comprises 2,328 from the Saskatoon area, 1,599 in the north, 1,273 from the Regina region, 1,009 in the south, 860 in the far north, 593 from the central zone, and 29 that are being investigated.
So far, there have been 2,740 cases in the 20-to-39 age range, 2,045 from ages 40 to 59, 1,611 involving people 19 and under, 1,020 between the ages of 60 and 79, and 270 in the 80-and-over range. The ages of five cases are pending.
Of the cases reported Friday, 137 were between the ages of 20 and 39 and 83 were aged 40 to 59. There were 59 cases among those aged 19 and under, 40 in the 60-to-79 range and 10 among those aged 80 and over.
The 3,687 tests processed in the province on Thursday increased the total so far to 334,051.