3 deaths related to COVID-19 in Sask., 299 new cases reported

Hospitalizations surge in Sask. WATCH: The SHA is heightening efforts to respond to COVID-19 as the province’s ICU capacity reaches nearly 100 per cent. Marc Smith reports.

REGINA — Saskatchewan reported 299 new COVID-19 cases and three more deaths on Thursday.

One of the individuals who died was in their 70s in Saskatoon. Two others were in their 80s and lived in the northwest region.

There are 3,146 active in Saskatchewan. One-hundred seventy-eight recoveries were reported on Thursday for a total of 4,176 to date.

Of Thursday’s new reported cases, 72 stem from the Saskatoon Correctional Centre; 68 offenders and four staff. There are 85 active cases among Saskatoon Correctional Centre offenders. As of Thursday there will be no new admissions to the Saskatoon Correctional Centre, and offenders will be redirected to Prince Albert and Regina.

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 243, or 20.1 new cases per 100,000 people.

There are 108 people in hospital, including 90 people in inpatient care and 18 in intensive care.

There are 11 new cases in the far northwest, four new cases in the far north central,16 in the far northeast, 17 in the northwest, 34 in the north central zone, three in the northeast, 125 in Saskatoon, four in the central west zone, six in the central east zone, 44 in Regina, seven in the southwest, 12 in the south central zone, eight in the southeast and eight new cases are pending location details.

Ten cases with pending location details have been assigned to Regina (three), the northwest (three) north central (four). The province says that 18 Saskatchewan residents who tested positive for COVID-19 out of province have been assigned to Regina (one), Saskatoon (four), the northwest (10), the far northwest (two) and north central (one).

Saskatchewan performed 3,493 COVID-19 tests on Wednesday.

SASK. HEALTH ESCALATES RESPONSE AS ICU CAPACITY NEARS 100%

The move comes after the SHA reported a five-fold growth in COVID-19 cases in ICUs over the last thirty days, causing capacity to reach nearly 100 per cent.

The health authority said pressure points in Saskatoon as of Thursday are leaving only three available ICU beds in the city.

The SHA needs to create about 200 more beds for COVID-19 patients than what currently exists in all hospitals outside of Saskatoon and Regina.

As for contact tracing, the agency said it needs to add staff to enable effective tracing for 450 cases per day and possibly more.

It said 450 cases per day would create 72 thousand hours of work for contact tracers over a two-week time span, or an average of more than five thousand hours per day.

COVID-19 SCHOOL CASES ATTRIBUTED TO SPORT

Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer said after-school sports are the main way COVID-19 is getting into classrooms.

Dr. Saqib Shahab said kids are contracting the illness at recreational facilities and bringing it to school.

“Right now the primary source of importation into schools is through sports activities,” Shahab said.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority listed recreational facilities as the top source of community transmission.

SHA WORKING TO ADDRESS DRIVE-THRU TESTING DELAYS, WAIT TIMES

Anyone heading for a COVID-19 test at drive-thru testing sites in Regina and Saskatoon this week is being met with a long line.

After experiencing mild symptoms, Evangeline McMillan decided to go get tested. She ended up waiting five hours in line.

"It went slow and I mean painfully slow, I think it was close to two and a half hours before I got to Dewdney [Ave.]," McMillan told CTV News.

McMillan said there were cars cutting in the line ahead of people waiting and she believes it could have been set up more efficiently.

SASK. SUSPENDS TEAM SPORTS ALONG WITH OTHER TWEAKS

The Government of Saskatchewan has tweaked some of its COVID-19 restrictions for the province, including changes for sports, restaurants, places of worship and performance and gaming venues.

All team and group sports, activities, games, competitions, recitals and practices have been suspended, including hockey, curling, racquet sports, cheerleading, dance practices in group setting, etc.

The province is also discouraging gatherings of any size, outside of your immediate household.

These restrictions come into effect on Friday, Nov. 27.