Regina lab set to test for variants

Facility can screen 192 samples a week for mutations of virus behind pandemic

Saskatchewan can now test for the more contagious COVID -19 variants.

The province announced on Monday that the Roy Romanow Provincial Laboratory has been certified to test for COVID-19 variants like those first identified in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil.

The Regina-based laboratory will now start testing as many as 192 samples per week for the variants. Another 120 samples a week will continue to be sent to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.

So far, six confirmed and one presumed case of the variants have been identified in Saskatchewan. However, the process of sending samples for testing in Winnipeg and awaiting results took weeks.

The province announced 154 new positive cases and 146 recoveries on Monday, so active cases inched up to 1,551. Saskatchewan continued to lead the nation in active cases per 100,000 people, according to information compiled by the federal government.

As of Sunday, Saskatchewan had 131 active cases per 100,000 people, compared to a national average of 81. Alberta was the only other province with a rate of more than 100, but was still far behind Saskatchewan at 104.

For the past week, Saskatchewan's active case numbers dropped to their lowest since mid-november.

The total number of diagnosed cases in Saskatchewan rose to 28,801. The Regina zone led with 53 new cases, followed by the Saskatoon zone with 33. Actives cases in the Regina zone increased to 497, while actives in the Saskatoon zone stayed pretty static at 292. Active cases in the Saskatoon area have dropped to their lowest level since early November.

The far north west zone, which includes Meadow Lake and La Loche, followed with 172 active cases. Most of these were located in the subzone with Meadow Lake, with 113 actives in a population of 17,907.

The Meadow Lake subzone added 10 new cases on Monday. The 12 new cases in the far north west zone announced on Monday were identified with 77 tests, translating to a positivity rate of more than 15 per cent.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority declared 13 outbreaks — where two or more cases are identified in a setting outside the home — in Meadow Lake in February. Meadow Lake is a city with about 8,288 residents.

No additional deaths of Saskatchewan residents related to COVID-19 were announced on Monday.

Of the 385 COVID-19 deaths in the province, 81 were reported in February — a sharp drop from the 151 deaths in January.

Saskatchewan continued to lead the nation in the number of new cases per 100,000 over the last seven days with 87; the national rate was 52.