Latest COVID update March 20: 3 deaths, 200 new cases, no new variant cases

For the second day in a row, Saskatchewan set a single-day record for COVID vaccinations Friday.

There were 8,766 doses given Friday, topping Thursday’s record of 6,867.

The provincial total is now at 133,828 doses administered.

Many vaccinations continue to be administered at the Regina drive-through clinic, where another 2,019 were given Friday.

The new doses were given in the Regina (2,860), southeast (1,597),  Saskatoon (1,111), central-east (1008), south-central (667), far northeast (281), southwest (220), far northwest (148), northeast (53), north-central (24), northwest (12) and far north-central (10) zones.

People 67 years and older are encouraged to book their COVID-19 vaccination online or by phone. In a news release, the Ministry of Health said there are over 500 vaccination appointment slots available between Saturday and March 24.

As of Friday, 89,338 appointments have been booked using the new appointment systems: 65,791 online and 23,547 by telephone.

A look at the numbers

The province reported 200 new cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan Saturday.

Three people who tested positive for the virus have died. Two of the deaths come from the far northeast zone belonging to the 60-69 age group and the 80-plus age group. One death was reported in the north-central zone in the 30-39 age group.

New cases are located in the Regina (91), Saskatoon (29), southeast (18), north-central (14), central-east (12), south-central (12), northwest (nine) far northwest (six), northeast (five), far northeast (two) and central-west (two) zones.

Six cases previously pending residence information were assigned to the north-central (one) and Regina (five) zones.

Of the 31,459 cases, there are a total of 29,608 recoveries with 1,434 cases considered active.

There were 3,581 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan Friday.

As of Saturday, there are no new confirmed variants of concern cases to report. There are 156 confirmed variants of concern cases in Saskatchewan: 149 of the United Kingdom strain and seven of the South African strain.

The Regina region accounts for 141 — or 90 per cent — of the confirmed variants of concern cases reported to date.

There are also 590 presumptive variants of concern cases reported in the far northeast (one), Saskatoon (13), central-east (six), Regina (504), south-central (38) and southeast (28) zones.

One hundred thirty-five people are in hospital. One hundred and eight people are receiving inpatient care in the far northwest (three), far northeast (one), northwest (six), north-central (six), Saskatoon (42), central-east (six), Regina (37), southwest (one), south-central (four) and southeast (two) zones.

Twenty-seven people are in intensive care in the Regina (14) Saskatoon (nine), central-east (three), and south-central (one) areas.