COVID-19 in Sask: 328 new cases, 7 new deaths reported Friday
Province awaits more vaccine doses, some communities won't receive doses on planned schedule
Saskatchewan reported 328 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, along with seven new deaths related to the illness.
The deaths reported included one person in their 50s from the far northeast zone and three people in their 70s — one each from the northwest, Saskatoon and Regina zones.
The other three deaths were people in their 80s: one from the northwest and two from the Regina zone.
The province has now reported 292 COVID-related deaths since the pandemic began. Of those, 139 were in January.
On Friday, the province's total caseload to date grew to 23,666. Here's where the new cases are:
- Far northwest: 30.
- Far north central: three.
- Far northeast: 16.
- Northwest: 27.
- North central: 26.
- Northeast: 13.
- Saskatoon zone: 90.
- Central west: nine.
- Central east: 25.
- Regina zone: 58.
- Southwest: one
- South central: three.
- Southeast: 19.
There are eight new cases with pending locations.
The seven-day average of daily new cases is 247, or 20.1 new cases per 100,000 people.
The province currently has 2,499 known active cases.
There are 218 people with COVID-19 in hospital, 33 of whom are in intensive care.
A total of 20,575 known cases have recovered from illness caused by the novel coronavirus, with 300 new recoveries reported Friday.
The province processed 3,100 COVID-19 tests on Thursday.
Vaccine update
The province administered 308 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in Saskatchewan to 35,091.
The latest doses were administered in the following areas:
- Far north central: 33.
- Saskatoon: 233.
- Central east: 22.
- Southeast: 20.
As of Thursday, the province said it had administered 107 per cent of the doses it had officially received, with the overage due to drawing extra doses from vials. Standard syringes draw five doses from each vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. However, specially approved syringes from Health Canada can draw the excess that remains, making it possible to extract six doses from a vial.
WATCH | Saskatchewan Premier on vaccine rollout:
Province waiting on more doses
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe issued a statement on Twitter on Friday after it was announced Moderna is cutting deliveries to Canada, similar to what Pfizer-BioNTech did earlier this week.
Any shipments that arrive next month must be used for second dose requirements, and some communities originally slated to receive first doses will see delays, the province said. This includes Regina and Swift Current.
"Our vaccination program in Saskatchewan is ready to ramp up, but we need more vaccines and we need reliable information on when we are getting the vaccines," Moe said.
"We are getting neither now from the federal government."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government will "always share the most accurate information" it has, adding that numbers can fluctuate in the short-term.
"As global production continues to pick up, there will be more stability in the system," Trudeau told reporters Friday.
Trudeau said the Moderna disruptions are tied to "certain concerns around the manufacturing process."
"This temporary delay doesn't change the fact that we will still receive two million doses of the Moderna vaccine before the end of March, as we've been saying for months," he said. "We know that this is something that we're going to have to keep watching very, very closely."
WATCH | Trudeau updates Canadians on COVID-19 vaccine delays:
With files from John Paul Tasker
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