Provincial COVID-19 total now at 206

Of the 206 cases, 96 are travel-related, 44 are community contacts (including mass gatherings), 10 have no known exposures, and 56 remain under investigation by public health.

Overall across the province, 103 are from the Saskatoon area, 44 are from the Regina area, 38 are from the North, nine are from the central region, nine are from the South and three are from the Far North.

Six cases are under age 19 and the remainder are adults.

Ninety-three cases are between the ages of 20 and 44, 74 are between 45 and 64, and 33 are aged 65-plus.

Fifty-five per cent of cases are males and 45 per cent are females.

Three people have died from the virus.

Up until today, 11,395 tests have been performed in the province, making Saskatchewan the province with the second highest rate of testing.

Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said the province is at a critical point in the fight against COVID-19 and while numbers remain comparatively low we must all continue to be vigilant.

“We have seen significant surges, not just in Europe but in other parts of North America now as well,” he said. “So far we appear to be fairly stable, but it’s really important we continue to maintain that discipline for the next little while and make sure that we remain as low as we can in terms of our daily case numbers.”

Summary of cases across the province as of April 2. (submitted photo/Government of Saskatchewan)

Advice on groups

The current public health order states all gatherings, whether public or private, should be limited to a maximum of 10 people. Yet, as a general rule, you should not have anyone visit your home if they don’t live there.

If it’s essential to have a gathering of no more than 10 people, you are urged to maintain the two-metre distance between people.

Public health officials also advice handing items back and forth is a common mode of transmitting the virus. Do not exchange items with a person of another household.

Premier Scott Moe said people should not be travelling throughout the province at this time, as this could move the virus around Saskatchewan.

“I’ve heard it snowed up in the Prince Albert area earlier this week and there’s people that have come in from other areas snowmobiling,” he said. “I would just urge people unless it is absolutely necessary for you to be travelling from one community to another community, we would ask that you lay low for the time being.”

Parking fees suspended

Effective immediately, the SHA is suspending parking fees for physicians, employees and patients at all SHA facilities to help ease the burden during the COVID-19 pandemic.

HealthLine 811

HealthLine 811 has received such a large volume of calls, it’s created an increase in technical difficulties.

Acting on those concerns on March 17, the system was replaced with an expanded capacity to handle more than 900 callers at a time. A callback feature was also added.

According to the province, more than 250 people were trained to receive calls on the expanded system, which has received nearly 50,000 since the replacement date.

Toll Free Line

If you have questions that are non-health specific about the pandemic, you can contact the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency’s toll free line at 1-855-559-5502.

The line will receive and coordinate public health order violations. Non-compliance concerns can also be filed online.

Operators on the line will work with public health officials and policing agencies to follow up on compliance concerns.

Business response team

If you are a business-owner looking for provincial or federal support, you can contact the business response team by calling 1-844-800-8688 or email supportforbusiness@gov.sk.ca

Donations

Businesses, manufacturers, organizations and individuals offering supplies, solutions and innovations during the pandemic are urged to contact procurement@gov.sk.ca

Since the creation of this single point of contact, over 800 emails have been received. Staff members are working to verify and contact those who have offered supplies or help. Fifty-seven donations of personal protective equipment and 85 purchase opportunities have been identified through this contact.

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panews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow

by paNOW Staff

Provincial COVID-19 total now at 206

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