(Canadian Press)

By Jeff D’Andrea

One day early

55+ Drive-thru vaccine clinic starting in Prince Albert Saturday

Apr 2, 2021 | 2:18 PM

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is starting its drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Prince Albert for those 55 years of age and older on Saturday—one day earlier than originally announced on Thursday.

The clinic will provide those eligible with the AstraZeneca vaccine, and will operate from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Thorpe Industries Warehouse on Pine Street, north of Prince Albert on Highway 2, will be the spot for the drive-thru clinic.

Only those 55 and older will receive the vaccine. Those who have already made appointments online but wish to use the drive-thru instead are asked by the SHA to cancel their online appointments.

Vaccines reported

With the addition of 8,109 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, there have now been 208,742 vaccines administered in Saskatchewan.

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The 8,109 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were given in the following regions: Far North West (242), Far North East (138), North Central (500), North West (413), North East (604), Saskatoon (2,225), Central West (11), Central East (1,599), Regina (1,911), South West (242) and South East (224).

The COVID-19 vaccine appointment booking system currently includes residents 58 years of age and older. Eligible residents are encouraged to book their COVID-19 vaccinations online or by phone. Additional information on how to book your appointment is available here.

One fifth of Saskatchewan residents in their 80s have now received their second dose of vaccine and are fully vaccinated.

For a list of first and second doses in Saskatchewan administered by geographic zone, visit here.

The AstraZeneca shipment from the United States has arrived and has been distributed. The remaining doses from the March 22 Moderna shipment are expected to arrive April 3 (7,200) and April 7 (1,400).

Submitted photo/Saskatchewan Health Authority

Daily COVID-19 Statistics

There are 254 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on April 2, bringing the provincial total to 34,043 cases.

One Saskatchewan resident who tested positive for COVID-19 has died. The death was reported in the 60-69 age group in the Saskatoon zone.

The new cases are located in the Far North West (1), Far North East (3), North West (13), North Central (12), North East (9), Saskatoon (36), Central East (8), Regina (112), South Central (22) and South East (31) zones. Seven (7) new cases have pending residence information. Two cases have been assigned to the Regina (1) and North West (1) zones. There are a total of 31,554 recoveries and 2,053 cases are considered active.

One hundred ninety-three (193) people are in hospital. One hundred and fifty-six (156) people are receiving inpatient care: Far North East (one), North West (six), North Central (two), Saskatoon (48), Central East (10), Regina (80), South Central (two), South East (seven). Thirty-seven (37) people are in intensive or critical care: Saskatoon (nine), Central East (one), North West (one), North Central (two), South Central (one) and Regina (23).

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 212 (17.3 new cases per 100,000). A chart comparing today’s average to data collected over the past several months is available on the Government of Saskatchewan website.

There were 4,780 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on April 1, 2021, a new single day high.

To date, 674,211 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of March 31, 2021, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 563,795 tests performed per million population. The national rate was 730,689 tests performed per million population.

Please note: Variants of concern (VOC) are beginning to rise across southern Saskatchewan, particularly in the Moose Jaw and Weyburn areas. Residents in these areas are urged to adhere to best personal protective measures:

• Wear your mask in all public places including all workplaces
• Wash non-medical masks daily
• Maintain physical distancing
• Wash your hands frequently
• Reduce activities outside of your home. Order take-out or curbside pick-up. If you are able to work from home, work from home at this time.
• Avoid all unnecessary travel to and from Moose Jaw and Weyburn.

As of April 1, 1,951 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the Far North East (two), North Central (12), Saskatoon (72), Central West (eight), Central East (30), Regina (1,419), South West (seven), South Central (151) and South East (127) zones. There are 123 cases with area of residence pending.

These were previously reported as “presumptive positives” but all screening tests will be considered confirmed VOCs for the purposes of public reporting and contact investigations.

There are 61 new lineage results being reported today. Of the 949 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 941 are B1.1.1.7 (UK) and eight are B1.351 (SA). The Regina zone accounts for 802 (85 per cent) of the VOC cases with confirmed lineage reported in Saskatchewan.

Facebook/NITHA Saskatchewan

NITHA numbers

There are 40 active cases of COVID-19 in Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority communities.

These cases are located in the Far North Central, Athabasca (0), Far North West (5), Far North East (20), North Central (3), and North East (12). 3300 cases (98%) have recovered.

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panews@jpbg.ca

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