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Dr. Saqib Shahab, the province's chief medical health officer. (file photo/CKOM News Staff)
COVID surge

Six more COVID-19 deaths, half of all fatalities in last 17 days

Dec 8, 2020 | 2:00 PM

Six more people who tested positive for COVID-19 have died in this province. It marks the largest one day increase in the number of deaths in Saskatchewan since the pandemic began. There has now been a total of 66 virus-related deaths.

There has been a sharp uptick in the rate of deaths in recent weeks. The first 33 deaths in the province happened within eight months from March 12 to November 20 of this year, whereas the last 33 have happened between Nov. 21 and today — a 17-day period.

Of the latest six fatalities, five were in their 80s, from the North West (one), Regina (three) and South East (one) zones. One individual in their 30s was from the North Central zone. This marks the largest one day increase in the number of COVID-19 deaths in Saskatchewan since the pandemic began.

There are 183 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on December 8, 2020, bringing the provincial total to date to 10,597 cases.

The new cases are located in the Far North West (13), Far North East (10), North West (18), North Central (30), North East (five), Saskatoon (62), Central West (seven), Central East (four), Regina (25), South West (four), South Central (one) and South East (one) zones and three new cases have pending residence information.

A detailed breakdown of cases in each geographical zone can be found here.

Two cases where a Saskatchewan resident tested positive while out of province have been added to the Far North West (one) and North West (one) zones.

Four cases with pending residence information have been assigned to the North West zone.

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 264 (21.8 new cases per 100,000 population).

Of the 10,597 reported cases, 4,663 are considered active. A total of 5,868 people have recovered. This marks the largest one day increase in the number of recoveries since the pandemic began.

One hundred forty-four people are in hospital. 117 people are receiving inpatient care: seven in the North West, 16 in the North Central, two in the North East, 51 in the Saskatoon, one in the Central East, 23 in the Regina, one in the South West, one in the South Central and 15 in the South East zones. Twenty-seven people are in intensive care: six in the North Central, 11 in the Saskatoon, eight in the Regina, one in the South West and one in the South Central zones.

A graph depicting the spread of COVID-19 across the province as of Dec. 8. (submitted photo/SHA)

Of the 10,597 cases in the province:

  • 510 cases are travelers;
  • 4,446 are community contacts (including mass gatherings);
  • 2,440 have no known exposures; and
  • 3,201 are under investigation by local public health.
    The province’s seven-day average of new cases in Saskatchewan. (submitted photo/SHA)

Overall in Saskatchewan to date:

  • 345 cases are healthcare workers; however, the source of the infections may not be related to healthcare in all instances.
  • 2,233 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, while the remainder are adults.
  • 3,718 cases are in the 20-39 age range; 2,803 are in the 40-59 age range; 1,423 are in the 60-79 age range; and 415 are in the 80-plus range. Confirmation of age is pending for five cases.
  • 50 per cent of the cases are female and 50 per cent are male.

Of 10,597 confirmed cases:

  • 3,200 cases are from the Saskatoon area
  • 2,192 cases are from the north area (783 north west, 1057 north central, 352 north east)
  • 2,047 cases are from the Regina area
  • 1,312 cases are from the south area (514 south west, 454 south central, 344 south east)
  • 1,106 cases are from the far north area (694 far north west, 84 far north central, 328 far north east)
  • 708 cases are from the central area (304 central west, 404 central east)
  • 32 cases have pending residence information

To date, 369,755 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of December 6, 2020 when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 232,584 people tested per million population. The national rate was 321,090 people tested per million population.

Yesterday, 2,359 COVID-19 tests were processed in Saskatchewan.

Public Health Measures

For more information on the current public health measures or to see the Public Health Order, visit https://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19.

General COVID-19 Information

General public inquiries may be directed to COVID19@health.gov.sk.ca.

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