A major spike in COVID-19 cases is being reported in Saskatchewan.
After two cases were discovered on Saturday, 23 people tested positive on Sunday and 31 more tested positive Monday, making for a three-day total of 56 cases of COVID-19 over the last three days.
A total of 31 of the new cases come from the central region, 15 were discovered in the south, six in Saskatoon, and four cases were found in the Regina region.
The provincial government says they are tracking a trend of COVID-19 spread from the southwest up to the west-central region of Saskatchewan. The SHA says they have found cases in the following rural municipalities:
• Maple Creek (No. 111)
• Auvergne (No. 76)
• Biggar (No. 347)
• Carmichael (No. 109)
• Eagle Creek (No. 376)
• Harris (No. 316)
• Lac Pelletier (No. 107)
• Newcombe (No. 260)
• Perdue (No. 346)
• Kellross (No. 247)
• Prairiedale (No. 321)
Nine people have recovered from COVID-19 over the weekend. 90 cases are considered active.
When asked about whether or not the province will implement a mandatory mask policy, Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said masks are only required right now for gatherings indoors where social distancing is not possible.
“Obviously, we want to watch the total number of cases — not just linked to an outbreak, because through active case finding, those numbers increase and that’s valuable — we have to look at cases that are sporadic, not linked to other individuals, the case contact investigation needs to conclude.”
While Manitoba now has just one active case of COVID-19, Dr. Shahab says this province is working with several jurisdictions across the country to help with pandemic response.
“I think people move back and forth for work between provinces, they move back and forth for social and family reasons, communities have close connections,” Dr. Shahab said. “I think, ultimately, we all need to learn from best practice from every province, and that’s what we’ve been doing.”
When it comes to sports, Dr. Shahab says there are guidelines in place for outdoor and indoor sports leagues to ensure enjoying physical activity doesn’t lead to an outbreak of COVID-19 cases.
“You obviously can’t avoid (being) closer than two meters for example if you’re playing a sport, but as you’re on the bench, as you’re meeting other teams or colleagues before and after an event, you have to maintain the two meter distance.”
Regina’s active case count is now at four after several days of not having a reported active case in the Queen City. Dr. Shahab has again called on the province to continue social distancing and keeping contacts to a minimum in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Three people are in hospital with COVID-19, with one patient in Saskatoon receiving inpatient care, one patient receiving intensive care, also in Saskatoon, and one patient in the south also being treated in an ICU.
