(Canadian Press)

By paNOW Staff

New cluster

Province reports sixth death from COVID-19, cluster identified in Lloydminster

Apr 29, 2020 | 2:22 PM

A person in their 80s in Saskatchewan’s Far North region has died from COVID-19, marking the sixth death from the disease in the province. Meanwhile, a cluster of cases have been linked to the Lloydminster Hospital.

There are now 17 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan, bringing the provincial total to 383. Of those cases, 11 are in La Loche, five are from the North region (four of which are linked to the new cluster of cases in Lloydminster), and one in the Saskatoon area.

In an afternoon press conference Premier Scott Moe said phase one of the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan will not begin in the communities of Lloydminster and La Loche on Monday, but will continue as planned in the rest of the province.

It is recommended travellers from other provinces self-isolate upon entering Saskatchewan and the premier said the government will consider upgrading it to a public health order in light of transmission from Alberta.

“This is one of the items as to why we held off [on] overnight camp grounds being available for the May long weekend to give us that extra 10 days or so of just not attracting people to Saskatchewan from all other areas of Canada,” he said. “This is no time to be travelling interprovincially unless it is for absolutely essential need.”

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Of the province’s cases, 86 are considered active. The number of recoveries is at 291.

There are 10 people in hospital, seven of which are receiving inpatient care. Three of those patients are in Saskatoon and four are in Lloydminster. Three patients are in the intensive care unit in Saskatoon.

Of Saskatchewan’s 383 cases, 137 are travellers, 154 are community contacts (including mass gatherings), 35 have no known exposures, and 57 remain under investigation.

In the province, 38 of the cases are health care workers (however not all were infected at work), 151 are from the Saskatoon area, 75 from the Regina area, 74 from the North, 57 from the Far North, 15 from the South, and 11 from the central region.

The current cases as of April 29. (submitted photo/SHA)

There are 34 cases involving people under the age of 19.

In the 20 to 39 age range, there are 140 cases, 129 in the 40 to 59 age range, 69 are in the 60 to 79 age range and 11 are in the 80-plus age range.

Of those infected, 50 per cent are males and 50 per cent are females.

There have been 29,106 tests for COVID-19 performed in the province.

A graph depicting the COVID-19 statistics updated to April 29. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

Lloydminster cluster

The new cases in Lloydminster are linked to a cluster in the Lloydminster Hospital. There have been 13 cases identified, including five health care workers and eight patients. The transmission occurred in the hospital setting, the province said.

As of today, patients are being grouped in separate units at the hospital. COVID-19 patients will still be admitted, but those who do not have the virus may be diverted to a separate hospital. The emergency department, including emergency surgical and obstetrical services remain open and available at the Lloydminster Hospital.

The province says the current arrangement could change depending on ongoing risk assessments. Health care workers who have been in contact with a confirmed case are being tested.

An outbreak remains underway in La Loche.

Moe said additional resources and staff are being sent to the community to help manage and prevent further transmission.

“The Saskatchewan Health Authority is in the process of deploying 50 to 100 additional staff and the necessary materials to do aggressive surge testing and contact tracing in that community and in that region,” he said.

The community’s testing capacity ramped up.

“If there are people in La Loche that would like to be tested, they will have the opportunity to be tested. We won’t be forcing people to be tested but we are asking them to be tested and we have the resources to test, if need be, the entire community,” Moe said.

Mass gatherings still prohibited

Organizers who mistakenly believed gatherings were allowed recently held events thinking they did not violate the current health order if attendees maintained social distancing.

The province is reminding the public group events are not allowed whether or not social distancing is practiced.

Gatherings that exceed 10 people are in violation of the public health order.

According to the most recent amendments to the order, one or two close families can form an extended household group.

The province stipulated:

• Your families or friends must remain consistent. Do not visit different families or friends every day.
• If you are going to create an extended household group, consider if any member of the group has chronic health conditions that would put them at greater risk, or if they are in close contact with someone who could be vulnerable.
• Gatherings must follow the public health order and be no more than 10 people.
• Stay home if you are sick.
• Maintain physical distancing by keeping two-metres apart.
• You should always be aware of who you have been in contact with over the past two weeks. These are the people who would need to be contacted by public health if you were to test positive for COVID-19.

—

panews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow