COVID-19: Saskatchewan reports 208 new cases, 3 new deaths | Globalnews.ca

Saskatchewan officials reported the latest COVID numbers on Thursday, including more than 200 new cases and three deaths.

There were 208 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 out of 5,372 tests for the week of June 19-25. Test positivity in the Regina area doubled from 3.4% to 7.0%.

Most of the laboratory-confirmed cases this week, 57.2 percent, were among those over 50 years of age.

Officials noted in the report that the rates should be interpreted with caution because they do not include cases detected by rapid home antigen test kits.

The province also reported three new COVID-19 deaths last week, where one death occurred on June 18 but was reported this week.

168 new lineage findings involving variants of concern (VOC) were reported, according to the epidemiology report. Officials said 100 percent were Omicron. While no BA.4 sublineage was detected this week, the BA.5 sublineage increased this week to 3.6%, compared to 1.1% the previous week.

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At the hospital, there were 119 COVID-19 patients, including four in the adult ICU. There are 10 patients under investigation to determine their conditions.

“Vaccination remains the best protection against serious outcomes of COVID-19 infection,” according to health officials in the report. “From December 20, 2021, through May 21, 2022, unvaccinated individuals had a 3-fold increased risk of hospitalization and a 6-fold increased risk of ICU admission and death compared to those who received three doses.” .

As of June 25, 86% of people over the age of five had received at least one dose of vaccine and 81.2% had completed a series, unchanged from the previous week. According to the epidemiology report, Regina is the only area that reports the Saskatchewan proportion for a complete series.

During the week of June 19 to 25, the province reported, 3,429 doses of vaccine against COVID-19 were administered. Of these, 214 were pediatric doses and 2,967 were booster doses. Health officials report that the total number of booster doses this week has decreased compared to the previous week.

Three outbreaks of COVID-19 were reported this week, all in the Regina area, compared to two last week.

According to the epidemiology report, in the last six weeks there have been 16 outbreaks in long-term care facilities, six in personal care homes and three in group homes. Fifteen of the 25 outbreaks reported in the last six weeks are ongoing.

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