The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan has reached its highest mark since mid-April.
The provincial government said Thursday the average currently stands at 279, the highest it has been since it was 287 on April 15.
On July 17, the average was 26.
The Ministry of Health reported 267 new cases, 170 recoveries and one death.
It’s the eighth straight day a Saskatchewan resident has died due to the virus. The death toll in the province to date is 608.
The active caseload rose to 2,466, its highest mark since it was 2,518 on April 27.
The new cases were reported in the Saskatoon (59), northwest (50), north-central (40), far northeast (31), southeast (18), far northwest (15), Regina (14), northeast (seven), central-east (five), central-west (three), far north-central (two) and south-central (two) zones.
The hometowns of 21 cases are still being determined.
According to the government, 36 of the new cases (13.5 per cent) were fully vaccinated.
Five cases were deemed to be out-of-province residents and were removed from Saskatchewan’s total, while three people who tested positive outside of Saskatchewan were added. The total now stands at 54,953.
Of those, 13,136 are from the Saskatoon area, with 12,496 from the Regina region and 12,420 from the north. To date, there have been 6,713 cases in the far north, 6,376 in the south zone and 3,561 in the central region. The hometowns of 251 cases are pending.
The number of COVID patients in Saskatchewan hospitals remained steady from Wednesday’s report at 134, with 23 people in intensive care. That number was down seven from the previous day.
The government said 97 of the hospitalizations (72.4 per cent) weren’t fully vaccinated.
There were 2,954 COVID tests done in the province Wednesday, increasing the total to date to 1,030,878.
A total of 2,933 doses of COVID vaccine were administered, including 1,185 first doses. Both of those totals were the highest in Saskatchewan since Aug. 21, when there were 1,429 first doses and 4,064 total doses delivered.
So far, 697,571 people have received both shots and are considered fully vaccinated.