One new death was reported, a person in their 60’s who tested positive for COVID-19 from Regina, has died. 198 people are in hospital with 41 in intensive care. With 253 recoveries the active case count is now at 2,549.
Vaccines Reported
An additional 8,856 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 290,921.
The 8,856 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered to residents living in the following regions: Far North West (6), Far North East (48), North West (274), North Central (332), North East (62), Saskatoon (1,752), Central West (343), Central East (896), Regina (2,881), South West (461), South Central (542) and South East (1,040). There were 219 doses administered with zone of residence pending.
Mobile Vaccination Units to Prioritize First Responders and Health Care Workers
Saskatchewan’s vaccine delivery plan will begin to target first responders through mobile vaccination units once current priority populations are complete. Currently, mobile vaccination units are targeting select congregate living settings including group home and shelter staff and residents. Once vaccinations in these settings are complete, mobile vaccination units will target first responders including police officers, fire fighters and public health inspectors and will be dispatched to central workplace settings. Targeted vaccination of first responders with mobile vaccination units is anticipated to commence within two weeks upon the completion of congregate living setting vaccinations.
“As we continue to make great progress in our vaccine delivery, we are able to utilize our mobile vaccination unit capacity to target those first responders that are assisting in enforcement of our public health orders,” Health Minister Paul Merriman said. “These mobile units will be dispatched to central workplaces of these first responders and will operate without compromising our mass vaccination capacity that exists in our age-based vaccine delivery.”
Public health routinely relies on first responders to assist in the enforcement of public health orders that are in place to limit the spread of COVID-19. Similar to the vaccination of vaccine delivery teams, vaccinating first responders involved with enforcing COVID-19 orders will reduce the risk of transmission to personnel that support the overall COVID-19 response. Paramedics, commonly considered first responders, were prioritized for vaccination in Phase 1 of the vaccine delivery plan.
To kick-start the vaccination of first responders in Regina where variants of concern are a predominant concern, vaccination of police officers in Regina began this weekend at the drive-thru site at Evraz Place. This was done during a time of low wait times on Saturday evening and into Sunday.
Remaining Health Care Workers To Be Allocated Unused Phase 1 Doses
As part of the Phase 1 prioritization framework, 40,500 health care workers were prioritized for the COVID-19 vaccine. Of those 40,500 priority vaccinations, first-dose uptake amongst priority health care workers has been 27,348 (67 per cent). Remaining front-line health care workers not included in Phase 1 prioritization will be allocated the remaining 13,152 first-doses.
All physicians are being included in priority sequencing as they may be called on to assist in clinical care areas and surge capacity needs. Eligible SHA healthcare workers and physicians will receive notice and a letter of eligibility directing them to book a vaccination appointment by telephone. The notification will come from either the College of Physicians and Surgeons for doctors or the SHA for other healthcare staff. The SHA frontline healthcare staff includes outpatient and community services staff, nurses, pharmacists, therapy staff, mental health professionals, social workers, housekeeping, dietary and ward support staff.
Remaining health care workers not included in the Phase 1 prioritization will be able to book their COVID-19 vaccination by phone only upon receipt of a letter of eligibility by calling 1-833-SASKVAX.
Pharmacies to Prioritize Staff Working in Pharmacy and Grocery Facilities
Saskatchewan’s pharmacists are set to begin participating in delivering vaccines on the week of April 26. In addition to offering increased access to the general public in pharmacies through the age-based sequence, pharmacists will be offering vaccines to pharmacy and grocery staff working in the facility where vaccines are offered.
“As pharmacies begin delivering the COVID-19 vaccine, we know there will be an increased risk of exposure to those frontline staff working in those facilities,” Merriman said. “By making the COVID-19 vaccine available to staff working in the pharmacy or attached grocery spaces through the pharmacists delivering the vaccine, these workers will be protected.”
Pharmacies will require proof of employment in the facility where the vaccine is being delivered. Any staff working in a facility where vaccine delivery is occurring will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in that facility.
Fifty-two per cent of Saskatchewan residents age 50+ have received their first dose:
| Status of Priority Population Vaccinations, as of April 11, 2021 | |||
| Group | Estimated Population |
Received First Dose |
Received Second Dose |
| LTC Residents | 8,392 | 7,741 (92%) | 6,841 (82%) |
| PCH Residents | 4,247 | 5,418 (128%) | 3,655 (86%) |
| Age 80+ | 51,307 | 43,362(85%) | 11,868 (23%) |
| Age 70-79 | 79,818 | 63,048 (79%) | 5,112 (6%) |
| Age 60-69 | 138,471 | 74,704 (54%) | 4,658 (3%) |
| Age 50-59 | 147,466 | 35,251 (24%) | 5,882 (4%) |
| Phase 1 health care workers
(includes LTC and PCH staff) |
40,500 | 27,348 (68%) | 18,043(45%) |
All vaccine administration details for the province, including first and second doses, can be found on the dashboard at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness. As the source database for vaccine information, Panorama is subject to continuous data updates which may result in revised counts, day over day.
The Pfizer shipment (31,590 doses) is expected April 13 and 14 and will be distributed throughout he province. The April 19 Moderna shipment is delayed however, very few rescheduled appointments are anticipated. Residents will be contacted if their booking is affected.
Vaccination Booking System Open to Ages 55+ Province Wide
Saskatchewan’s vaccine booking system is available to all individuals 55 years of age and older. Eligible residents ages 55+ can book their appointment online at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine, or by phone at 1-833-SASKVAX. Additional information on how to book your appointment is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-booking.
Regina Drive Thru Vaccination Clinic Open to Ages 50-54 ONLY
The Regina COVID-19 vaccine drive thru has expanded eligibility to include all residents aged 50-54 years only, with possible changes to age ranges as demand allows. This clinic will be first come first serve, open 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily at Evraz Place on the Regina Exhibition grounds. For further information on all drive-thru clinics in the province, including wait times, see https://www.saskhealthauthority.ca/news/service-alerts-emergency-events/Pages/COVID-19-Vaccine-Drive-Thru-Wait-Times.aspx.
Daily COVID-19 Statistics
There are 300 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on April 12, bringing the provincial total to 36,604 cases. Four (4) cases were found to be out-of-province residents and removed from Saskatoon (1), South East (1) and pending (2) counts. Three (3) cases not previously reported were added to Saskatoon zone.
There was one (1) new death reported in the 60 to 69 range in the Regina zone.
The new cases are located in the Far North West (4), Far North East (3), North West (17), North Central (9), North East (1), Saskatoon (72), Central West (15), Central East (22), Regina (96), South West (10), South Central (17) and South East (22) zones. Twelve (12) new cases have pending residence information. Three (3) cases with pending residence information have been assigned to the Central West (1) and Regina (2) zones. There are a total of 33,600 recoveries and 2,549 cases are considered active.
One hundred and ninety-eight (198) people are in hospital. One hundred and fifty-seven (157) people are receiving inpatient care: Far North West (2), Far North East (1), North West (4), North Central (7), North East (2), Saskatoon (46), Central East (10), Regina (77), South West (1) and South East (7). Forty-one (41) people are in intensive care: North Central (3), Saskatoon (5), Central East (3), Regina (26), South West (1) and South Central (3).
The seven-day average of daily new cases is 261 (21.3 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 at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness/covid-19/seven-day-average-of-new-covid-cases.
There were 3,093 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on April 11, 2021.
To date, 707,648 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of April 10, 2021, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 593,594 tests performed per million population. The national rate was 763,047 tests performed per million population.
As of April 12, 3,485 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the Far North West (7), Far North East (1), North West (13), North Central (39), North East (3), Saskatoon (181), Central West (13), Central East (94), Regina (2,423), South West (33), South Central (309) and South East (348) zones. There are 21 cases with 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 were zero (0) new lineage results being reported today. Of the 1,435 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 1,426 are B.1.1.1.7 (UK) and nine are B.1.351 (SA). The Regina zone accounts for 1,131 (79 per cent) of the VOC cases with confirmed lineage reported in Saskatchewan.
Please note that these VOC may have been initially identified via means other than screening (i.e. selection for whole genome sequencing without screening) and that whole genome sequencing results to identify lineage are included in the screening results.
Confirmed variant of concern cases may appear in both columns on the website, depending on testing for that case. Adding the cases identified by screening and those that have received whole genome sequencing may result in double-counting individual cases.
Further statistics on the total number of cases among healthcare workers, breakdowns of total cases by source of infection, age, sex and region, total tests to date, per capita testing rate and current numbers of confirmed variants of concern can be found at http://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-cases.
All Public Health Measures Extended to April 26
The Chief Medical Health Officer has extended the provincial public health orders announced Tuesday, March 9 and the Regina and area revisions announced Tuesday, March 24. The orders will remain in effect until April 26, 2021, and be reviewed at that time.
Due to increased COVID-19 transmission risk in Regina and area, revisions were made March 24 including: restricting private indoor gatherings to immediate household members only; all restaurants and licensed establishments must close for in-person dining; and most event venues supporting 30 persons or less are not permitted to operate.
Travel is also not recommended in or out of the Regina area unless absolutely necessary. It is strongly recommended that all individuals in the Regina area able to work from home do so.
Full details on current public health measures can be found at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-measures.
Please note: Variants of concern (VOC) are beginning to rise across Saskatchewan, particularly in the Regina, Moose Jaw, Estevan, Weyburn and Saskatoon areas. Residents in the entire province 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 Regina, Moose Jaw and Weyburn.
All Saskatchewan residents should monitor active cases in their area and adjust their activity accordingly. Active and new case information for each area can be found at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness.
If you have any symptoms, stay home and arrange for a COVID-19 test. If anyone in your home has symptoms, the entire household should remain home until the test results are known. Testing information is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/testing-information.
General COVID-19 Information
General public inquiries may be directed to COVID19@health.gov.sk.ca.
Know your risk. Keep yourself and others safe. www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/about-covid-19/know-your-risk.