Neck guard sales jump after Sask. hockey player slashed by skate
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More adult players are now investing in the protective equipment.
According to Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Health, COVID-19 rates are on the rise in the province, with hospital admissions, ICU admissions and positive test rates creeping upward.
“COVID-19 activity is increasing in the province of Saskatchewan,” the ministry said in its latest report on the virus.
The report Thursday from the ministry includes data from the past three weeks, covering the period between June 26 and last Saturday. With the Ministry of Health moving to a monthly reporting schedule, the next report will come Aug. 18, and the latest data will be reported monthly going forward.
According to the latest report, 628 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID were detected between June 26 and Saturday. The rate of positive tests was four per cent in the latest reporting period, an increase from the 3.8 per cent positivity rate reported between June 19 and June 25. Those figures do not include cases detected by rapid tests.
The Saskatoon, Regina, southwest, central-west and northwest zones all saw positivity rates above five per cent in the latest report.
A total of 22 new deaths were included in the latest report, though eight of them occurred before June 26 and were not previously reported. More than 1,430 people have died of COVID-19 in the province.
The ministry reported 229 hospital admissions (a rate of 76.3 per week) and 15 ICU admissions (five per week) over the period between June 26 and Saturday.
The Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sublineages are “now the dominant sublineages detected in Saskatchewan,” the ministry noted, accounting for 65.6 per cent of new cases.
The ministry continues to employ Paxlovid and Remdesivir as treatments, with 633 Paxlovid courses dispensed and 54 Remdesivir prescriptions filled along with 137 infusions.
More than 21.6 million rapid antigen test kits have been distributed in Saskatchewan, the ministry noted.
Less than half of residents eligible for vaccination have received three doses, the ministry noted, but the figure continues to increase.
As of Saturday, 44.6 per cent of the eligible population had received at least three vaccine doses, a slight increase from 42.3 per cent on June 25. All residents 12 and over are eligible for a third dose, the ministry noted, and children under five are now eligible to be vaccinated as well.
Many of the data points and tables included in previous reports were changed or omitted in the latest report from the ministry, making some comparisons difficult.