Saskatchewan reports 47 in ICU, 219 new COVID-19 infections

One COVID-19 death was included in Saskatchewan’s daily update on Monday as the number of people in intensive care hit a new high.

The recently deceased was reported in their 60s and in the Saskatoon zone, according to a press release. There have been 440 COVID-19-related deaths in the province to date.

The province’s hospitals are currently providing care for 195 patients with COVID-19 — 148 are receiving inpatient care and 47 are in intensive care. This is the highest number of coronavirus patients reported in ICUs since the pandemic began.

Read more: Long lineups as drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination site opens in Saskatoon

Health officials said on Monday there were 219 new cases with the overall infection total in Saskatchewan now at 34,763. The new seven-day average of daily cases is up from 216 on April 4 to 218.

According to the provincial government, 2,453 variants of concern (VOC) cases have been identified in Saskatchewan and were reported in the far north east (4), north west (3), north central (18), Saskatoon (151), central west (12), central east (41), Regina (1,756), south west (10), south central (204) and south east (195) zones. The residences of 59 VOC cases are pending.

Active cases, which are total cases minus recoveries and deaths, now sit at 2,202 in Saskatchewan, according to the press release.

Read more: Long lineups as drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination site opens in Saskatoon

The total number of people who have recovered from the virus has grown to 32,121 following 212 more recoveries, provincial health officials said.

According to the press release, 3,330 COVID-19 tests were performed on April 4. To date, 684,404 tests have been carried out in the province.

A total of 221,533 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Saskatchewan, provincial government officials said.

Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.

To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus. In some provinces and municipalities across the country, masks or face coverings are now mandatory in indoor public spaces.

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