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.
The number of active COVID-19 cases being reported in Saskatchewan continued to decline Thursday.
The Ministry of Health reported in a media release there were 190 new cases, 439 recoveries and one death. Those figures left the active caseload at 2,699, its lowest level since it was 2,683 on Nov. 23.
It was the third straight report from the provincial government in which the number of active cases had dropped.
A resident of the Saskatoon area who was in the 80-and-over age group and who previously had tested positive became the 155th person in the province to die due to COVID-19 since March.
The individual was the 108th person to die from the virus in Saskatchewan in December.
The new cases increased the province’s total to date to 15,350. The seven-day average of daily new cases is 157, or 13 per 100,000 population.
The cases reported Thursday were in the Saskatoon (47), north-central (37), Regina (23), far northeast (22), northwest (12), southeast (10), far northwest (nine), south-central (eight), central-east (four), southwest (three), northeast (two) and central-west (two) zones. The hometowns of 11 cases are still being determined.
The recoveries reported Thursday increased that total so far to 12,496.
There are 30 people in intensive care in Saskatchewan hospitals, with 11 in the Regina region, nine in the Saskatoon area, five in the north-central zone, three in the northwest and one in each of the central-east and southwest zones.
Of the 112 people receiving inpatient care, there are 39 in the Saskatoon area, 32 in the Regina region, 21 in the north-central zone, seven in the northwest, six in the central-east zone, two in each of the far northwest and northeast areas, and one in each of the central-west, southwest and southeast areas.
Hospitalizations have dropped by 40 since reaching a high of 182 on Sunday.
As of Wednesday, 3,458 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine had been given to health-care workers in Regina and Saskatoon.
As of Thursday, 723 health-care workers had contracted the virus since March. That number stood at 256 at the end of November.
Regina Correctional Centre a hotspot
According to the province, there are 54 active COVID-19 cases among inmates and three among staff members at the Regina Correctional Centre.
The government said it expected that number to rise with increased testing.
A number of outbreaks have been added to the provincial government’s list in the past week, including ones at the Rosthern Hospital, the St. Walburg Health Complex and the Weyburn General Hospital.
Care homes such as the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre in Regina, the Lutheran Home in Regina and the Weyburn Special Care Home now appear on the list, as does a Public Health contact tracing office on Hamilton Street in Regina.
A look at the numbers
There were 6,786 new cases reported in the province in December.
Of those, 2,447 were in the 20-to-39 age group, 1,642 were between the ages of 40 and 59, 1,455 were in the 19-and-under group, 877 were aged 60 to 79, and 365 were in the 80-and-over demographic.
Since March, there have been 5,497 cases in the 20-to-39 age range, 3,933 between the ages of 40 and 59, 3,229 involving people 19 and under, 2,004 from ages 60 to 79, and 682 in the 80-and-over age group. The ages of five cases were pending.
Since March, there have been 4,311 cases in the Saskatoon area, 3,727 in the north, 2,991 from the Regina region, 1,714 in the far north, 1,591 from the south, and 933 from the central zone. The hometowns of 83 cases remain under investigation.
In December, there were 1,985 cases reported in the north, 1,708 in the Saskatoon area, 1,462 in the Regina region, 801 in the far north, 469 in the south and 306 in the central zone. The locations of 55 cases reported during the month are pending.
There were 2,198 tests processed in Saskatchewan on Wednesday, increasing the total to date to 426,731.