Saskatchewan ends 2020 with deadliest month
142 people infected with COVID-19 in hospital, 30 of them in intensive care
Saskatchewan added another Covid-19-related death to cap its deadliest month, but recoveries were registered at over double the rate of new cases.
The death of a person aged 80 or over in Saskatoon reported Thursday on the last day of 2020 boosted the total death toll from the pandemic to 155, with 108 of those deaths reported in December.
Saskatchewan recorded 439 recoveries Thursday, compared to 190 new cases, which reduced the active cases in the province to 2,699, the lowest since Nov. 22.
Despite the encouraging numbers, the province's chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, warned people to keep practising measures to limit the spread of the pandemic.
“I hope we don't see a spike in January and that is exactly the reason why all these measures are in place,” Shahab said Wednesday at the province's last pandemic briefing of the year.
The province introduced tighter restrictions like expanding its mandatory mask rules and limiting capacity in stores prior to
Christmas to try to curb the spread of COVID-19.
“I think the next three months are going to be critical,” Shahab said.
Nearly half of the recoveries reported Thursday, 233, were recorded in the Saskatoon zone, where active cases have dropped to 574, the lowest since Nov. 15. Active cases peaked in Saskatoon with 1,538 on Dec. 7, by far the highest in any zone during the pandemic.
Active cases in the Regina zone have dropped to 479 from a peak of 1,179 on Dec. 15. Active cases in the north west zone that includes Prince Albert dropped to 395, down from a peak of 476 on Monday.
Active cases in the province peaked at 4,763 on Dec. 7. As of Wednesday, Saskatchewan had dropped to fourth place among provinces in per capita active cases, behind Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec.
The province ends 2020 with a total of 15,350 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
The number of those in hospital with COVID-19 as of Thursday dropped to 142, with 30 of those receiving intensive care. Hospitalizations peaked at 182 on Monday.
The new cases announced Thursday included 47 in the Saskatoon zone, 37 in the north central zone that includes Prince Albert and 23 in the Regina zone.
The seven-day average of daily cases rose slightly to 157. The seven-day average peaked at 292 on Dec. 12.
The province processed 2,198 tests Wednesday, which reveals a positivity rate of 8.6 per cent with 190 new cases. Shahab said Wednesday he expected fewer people to get tested over the Christmas holiday.
In Saskatchewan, the fall and winter brought a different, more severe pandemic than had been seen through the spring and summer.
On Sept. 2, active cases in the province had dropped to 29 and there had been only 24 deaths related to COVID-19 recorded through the first six months of the pandemic.
Saskatchewan went a full 46 days, including the entire month of September without a single death linked to COVID-19. Prior to October, the highest daily case count recorded was 60 cases on July 22 amid an outbreak on Hutterite colonies.
On Nov. 5, a new daily high of 129 cases suggested the surge that would engulf the province over the next two months.
The rise in deaths during the winter months has been driven by fatalities in long-term care homes, particularly Parkside Extendicare in Regina, where 36 deaths have been linked to COVID-19.
In Saskatoon, nine deaths related to COVID-19 have been confirmed at the Luther Special Care Home.
Of the 155 people who died after a COVID-19 diagnosis, 47 lived in the Regina zone and 29 lived in the Saskatoon zone.
The north west zone that includes North Battleford and Lloydminister has recorded 19 deaths, while the north central zone that includes Prince Albert has lost 16 people.
The province has reported 11 COVID-19 deaths in the far north west zone that includes Meadow Lake and La Loche and 11 in the southeast zone that includes Weyburn and Estevan.
The government said Friday's case information will be included in the numbers released on Saturday.