COVID rates climb in latest report, 18 more deaths reported

COVID-19 rates are climbing in Saskatchewan.

The Government of Saskatchewan’s latest Community Respiratory Illness Surveillance Program report, released on Thursday, showed increases in COVID-19 rates for test positivity, hospitalizations and deaths between March 12 and last Saturday.

During that period, 18 people died due to the virus.

Three of the deaths were among the 20-to-59 age group, the report noted, while the remaining 15 were in the 60-and-over age group.

A total of 242 new COVID cases were confirmed by lab tests during the latest reporting period, the government said. The test positivity rate for COVID also rose in the latest report, climbing from 7.1 per cent to 9.4 per cent.

“Test positivity is highest in Kindersley, Weyburn/Estevan and La Ronge areas,” the report stated.

COVID-related hospitalizations also climbed between March 12 and last Saturday. According to the province, there were 166 hospital admissions during the latest reporting period, a jump from 151 in the previous report. Meanwhile, COVID-19 ICU admissions dropped to 10 in the latest report.

Province-wide, only 47 per cent of those aged 50 and over have received more than one COVID-19 booster shot, the government noted.

Influenza:

When it comes to the flu, only 11 lab-confirmed cases were included in the most recent report.

While influenza activity was generally low around Saskatchewan, the government noted that the emergence of the type B strain “is responsible for an increase in influenza test positivity.”

Only one death due to the flu has been reported in the past six weeks, the government said in its report.

“As of Feb. 28, 2023, 27 per cent of the Saskatchewan population have received an influenza vaccine,” the report stated.

“This is a 10 per cent decrease in doses administered compared to the same time last year and no change from the previous month.”

RSV:

A total of 25 respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases were detected by lab tests in the most recent report, a significant decline from the 164 cases included in the previous report.

Eighty per cent of RSV cases were in “the pediatric age group,” the government noted.

RSV hospitalizations dropped from 35 to 16 in the most recent report.