Latest COVID update May 27: Sask. reports 6 deaths, 118 new cases, 216 recoveries

Saskatchewan reported six deaths due to COVID-19 on Thursday, the highest single-day total of fatalities related to the virus in a month.

The last time six people died due to the virus in the province was April 27.

Five of the people who died — two individuals in their 70s, two people in the 80-and-over age group and one individual in their 60s — were from the Saskatoon zone. A person in their 70s from the northwest zone also died due to COVID.

To date, 534 Saskatchewan residents have died as a result of the coronavirus.

The province also reported 216 more recoveries and 118 new cases. The number of active cases in the province fell to 1,382, the lowest it has been since it was at 1,345 on March 19.

A look at the numbers

The latest new cases were reported in the Saskatoon (33), Regina (23), north-central (19), southeast (14), northwest (eight), central-east (six), far northeast (three), far northwest (two), northeast (two) and south-central (two) zones. The hometowns of six new cases are still being determined.

Forty-four cases that were tested out of province were added to the Saskatchewan total, which now stands at 46,163 since the pandemic started.

The seven-day average of new COVID cases fell to 11.2 per 100,000 people.

To date, 10,367 cases of variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan — and increase of 50 from Wednesday’s update. The Regina zone (4,590) has recorded the highest number of variants cases in the province.

Of the 5,711 cases of variants with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 5,528 are the U.K. variant, 144 are the Brazilian strain, 29 are the Indian mutation and 10 are the South African strain.

The latest recoveries increase the total announced so far to 44,247.

There are 127 people in hospital, with 27 in intensive care. Those patients are in the Regina (nine), Saskatoon (nine), north-central (five), northwest (two), central-east (one) and southwest (one) zones.

The 2,583 tests done in the province Wednesday increased that total so far to 851,638.

Vaccination update

There were 9,427 doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered in Saskatchewan in the last reporting period, hiking the total to date to 679,274.

There were 3,402 second doses administered, a new single-day high.

The latest shots were given in the Regina (2,086), Saskatoon (1,961), central-east (1,155), southeast (719), south-central (687), northwest (683), northeast (598), north-central (373), central-west (358), far northwest (342), southwest (195), far northeast (75) and far north-central (one) zones.

The hometowns of 194 recipients are still being determined.