COVID-19 recoveries outpace new cases in Saskatchewan for the first time
“This means that for the first time since the arrival of COVID-19 into Saskatchewan, the number of new recoveries has exceeded the number of new confirmed cases,”
For the first time since the first case of COVID-19 appeared in the province, Saskatchewan health officials were able to report that recoveries outpaced the number of new cases of coronavirus.
During an April 6 press briefing, Premier Scott Moe was able to report there were 14 individuals who recovered from COVID-19 compared to four new cases.
“This means that for the first time since the arrival of COVID-19 into Saskatchewan, the number of new recoveries has exceeded the number of new confirmed cases,” Moe said on Monday.
Saskatchewan’s first case of COVID-19 was confirmed back on March 12, and back on March 26 the province reported that three people had officially recovered from the virus.
The most recent statistics provided before press deadline on Tuesday, Saskatchewan had 260 individuals with COVID-19, and a total of 88 individuals have officially recovered. There remain only three deaths in Saskatchewan caused by COVID-19.
Over the weekend, Saskatchewan recorded a total of 29 new cases (11 on Saturday and 18 on Sunday), before totals dropped to an additional four on Monday and seven on Tuesday. As of Tuesday there were 260 confirmed cases in Saskatchewan, but the relatively low numbers do not mean residents should become complacent.
“Most of us who are not in essential services are staying home, and that’s good. But we are seeing obviously transmission in essential work places, and that actually validates why anyone who doesn’t need to be at work should stay at home,” explained Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab.
“So people who work in essential services - healthcare, industrial settings, grocery stores - there is a need to be supported to minimize transmission among themselves and from members of the public in a very purposeful way. And how to maintain physical distancing if you work in an essential work place that isn’t healthcare.
“Beyond that, there is some evidence that suggests that if you wear a non-medical mask, when you cough and you can’t cough into your sleeve or into a tissue, then the mask just captures the droplets and they don’t fall on the surface where someone else may touch it.
“So again we have to remember that we live in a context where for the most part we can maintain our physical distance in a way that we minimize any exposure irrespective whether you wear a mask or not, in terms of exposing surfaces that others may touch.
“But if people want to design and wear a mask when they go grocery shopping, they have to think about how they will use it. If you wear a mask and you put it down inside out on a surface, and then put it on again, you’re probably causing more exposure to yourself that if you weren’t wearing a mask. You certainly shouldn’t wear a mask and go out if you’re sick.”
“If people want to look at what’s on various websites about how to design and use a mask, that’s fine. But it has to be done understanding how you can use it safely and properly. And it should not exchange any of the other essential practices that are so important and have demonstrated to have an impact.”
The province is also changing the way some of the COVID-19 data is shared with the public, with Saskatchewan now reporting active cases. This statistical data is the total number of confirmed cases, minus the number of confirmed recoveries, but also the fatalities.
“Active Cases are down by 10 today, from 179 yesterday, now 169 active cases today. Now that’s just one day. So it’s far too early to early for us to say whether this is any sort of trend in Saskatchewan. But it is good news and it shows that what we are doing is working. Together we are reducing the spread, we are flattening the curve,” Moe said on Monday.