Saskatchewan records 14 COVID-related deaths in latest report

More than 1,900 Saskatchewan residents have died due to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

In the latest Community Respiratory Illness Surveillance Program report, released Thursday, the provincial government said 14 people had died due to the virus between Feb. 26 and this past Saturday.

One of the people was under the age of 19, two were between the ages of 20 and 59, and 11 were in the 60-and-over age group.

From March of 2020 until last Saturday, 1,913 Saskatchewan residents were reported to have died due to COVID. That number could increase due to a lag in reporting; the latest report added three deaths to the total from the week of Feb. 19-25 that weren’t in the previous CRISP release.

The province also reported another death due to influenza. That occurred in the week of Feb. 19-25, but wasn’t accounted for in the previous CRISP report due to a lag in reporting.

According to the latest report, the virus most commonly detected through the sentinel provider program this past week was the common cold.

COVID-19

The number of lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases increased over the past two weeks, reaching 237 in the week of March 5 to Saturday. The total was 194 in the week of Feb. 19-25.

The test positivity rate in the province rose to 8.1 per cent last week from 6.6 per cent in the Feb. 19-25 reporting period.

COVID-related hospitalizations have climbed over the past two weeks, rising from 54 in the week of Feb. 19-25 to 74 in the week ending Saturday.

ICU admissions due to COVID increased from six in the week of Feb. 19-25 to 11 in the week of Feb. 26-March 4, but fell again to four last week.

Among Saskatchewan people aged five years and up, 20 per cent have received their latest booster dose in the past six months. Outside of Regina, all areas of the province have less than 50 per cent of their population up to date for COVID-19 vaccines.

Influenza

Even with the recent emergence of Type B influenza, the number of lab-confirmed cases of the flu remains low.

There were seven cases reported last week, with three under the age of four, three in the 20-to-64 age range and one in the 65-and-over age category.

There were two influenza hospitalizations last week, but no ICU admissions due to the flu.

Other respiratory viruses

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) cases have dropped significantly over the past three weeks.

There were 96 lab-confirmed cases in the week of Feb. 19-25, but only 41 last week. The test positivity rate fell from 12.1 per cent three weeks ago to 5.2 per cent in the week ending Saturday.

Many of the cases detected last week were in the four-and-under age range (44 per cent).

Hospitalizations due to RSV dropped from 39 three weeks ago to eight last week.