DOLPHINS PROTEST
Swimmers from the Regina Optimist Dolphins and other Regina swim clubs gather at city hall Wednesday to plead their case to have swimming pools opened. They made their pitch on the same day that the province’s active COVID case tally topped 100.
SASKATOON The number of active COVID -19 cases in Saskatchewan climbed above 100 for the first time in a month.
The province announced four new cases on Wednesday, increasing total cases to 757 and active cases to 101.
Active cases had dipped to 16 on June 7 from a peak of 209 on May 10, but outbreaks in the far north and the south region have driven an increase in reported cases this month.
Active cases dropped below 100 on May 22.
The four new cases include one person who tested positive outside the province.
The case locations were classified as two in the far north, one in the north region and one in the south region.
The number of people in hospital diagnosed with COVID -19 rose to five for the first time since May 26. Four patients were reported as receiving in-patient care, two in Saskatoon and two in the south, while the other is listed in intensive care at an unidentified hospital in the south region.
Hospitalized cases peaked at 19 on May 8.
Active cases in the vast far north region, which peaked at 156 on May 10, rose to 55, the highest in more than a month. Active cases in the far north had dropped to as low as six this month.
Active cases in the south region remained static at 35; that outbreak is linked to two Hutterite colonies in the Rural Municipality of Maple Creek and travel to Hutterite communities in Alberta. Active cases in the Saskatoon region stayed at nine.
The growth in cases in the far north is linked to a wake and funeral on the Clearwater River Dene Nation earlier this month. Active cases on the northern reserve rose to 27 on Tuesday.
Clearwater River Chief Teddy Clark said the community is better prepared now to handle outbreaks like the current one.
“We’ve been doing this for the last three months and we’ve learned a lot,” Clark said in an interview.
Clark said security has been contracted to patrol the beach north of the reserve on Lac La Loche after some reports of drinking. The gate to the beach will open at noon and close at 9 p.m., Clark said.
As the province moves forward with its reopening plan, about two-dozen swimmers from Regina-based swim clubs protested at Regina City Hall on Wednesday over the delay in announcing an opening date for indoor pools.
On Tuesday, the province announced that libraries, museums and theatres can open Monday, but postponed a decision on indoor pools, casinos and bingo halls.