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Hospitalizations and ICU admissions due to COVID-19 reached record levels again Tuesday in Saskatchewan.
According to the Ministry of Health, there were 311 COVID patients in the province’s health-care facilities. The previous record of 289 was set Monday.
There also are 65 people in ICUs in the province; the previous mark of 63 was set Sunday.
On its COVID-19 dashboard Tuesday, the Ministry of Health said there weren’t any ICU beds available in six of the province’s 13 regions: The far northwest, far north-central, far northeast, northeast, central-west and southeast.
However, a call to the ministry seeking clarification discovered there weren’t any ICU beds in those regions to start with.
The government said 240 of the people in hospital weren’t fully vaccinated.
The ministry also reported 10 COVID-related deaths, the most in a day since there were 11 on Jan. 28.
It’s the 24th straight day Saskatchewan has reported at least one death due to COVID. So far in September, 79 people have died as a result of the virus, including 36 in the past week.
The latest deaths were five people in the 60-to-79 age group and five individuals aged 80 and over. Four of the fatalities were recorded in the southwest zone, two were in the central-west zone and one was in each of the northeast, Saskatoon, south-central and southeast regions.
To date, 682 people have died due to COVID in the province.
A look at the numbers
The ministry said there were 449 new cases, hiking the provincial total to date to 66,343.
The latest cases were reported in the Saskatoon (103), northwest (72), Regina (48), north-central (38), south-central (27), southeast (25), far northeast (23), southwest (22), far northwest (20), central-east (15), central-west (11), northeast (10) and far north-central (two) zones.
The hometowns of 33 cases are still being determined.
Of the total, 373 weren’t vaccinated, 58 were fully vaccinated and 18 were partially vaccinated.
The unvaccinated cases included 103 children under the age of 11, 56 people in their 30s, 53 individuals in their 20s and 48 kids aged 12 to 19.
There were 3,303 new cases reported during the week, leaving the seven-day average at 472.
The active caseload dropped for a second straight day, this time to 4,734. There were 490 recoveries reported, increasing the total to date to 60,927.
Vaccination update
A total of 648 doses of COVID vaccine were administered in the province, the lowest single-day total since 393 shots were given on Sept. 8.
The latest total included 359 first doses and 289 second doses.
To date, 80 per cent of Saskatchewan residents aged 12 and over have got their first dose and 72 per cent have got two doses.
Starting Monday, the province’s booster program will expand eligibility to include everyone 80 and over (provided six months have passed since their second dose) and immunocompromised and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals including those with auto-immune diseases and those who received chemotherapy or radiation therapy in the past six months.
Previously, only residents of long-term and personal care homes and some immunocompromised people could get a booster.
Everyone who’s eligible for medical reasons will get a letter from the Ministry of Health or their physician with instructions on how to get the shot.
People who can get booster shots are urged to visit a pharmacy or pop-up clinic, as online booking isn’t available yet for boosters.
Anyone who has already received a third dose for travel or in a long-term or personal-care home setting does not need a fourth dose.