Sask. sees 44 COVID-19 variant cases over 2-month span

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REGINA — Over a two-month period, 44 people in Saskatchewan have tested positive for COVID-19 variant cases at the Roy Romanow Provincial Lab.

A survey completed between Jan. 26 and Feb. 27, 190 people who tested positive for COVID-19 were surveyed for a strain, and 35 cases were confirmed. Of those cases, 28 were in the Regina zone.

The initial survey testing began on March 1 when the lab began its whole genome sequencing. In a press release on Tuesday, the province said the results were reported to the Ministry of Health on March 8.

The B. 1. 1. 7 strain, initially detected in the United Kingdom, is the most common with a total of 38 confirmed cases. Of those, 36 were in the Regina zone and one each were in the Northwest zone and the Saskatoon zone.

The B1.351 strain, initially detected in South Africa, has been found on a smaller scale in Saskatchewan. Six people in the province’s North Central zone and one person in the South Central zone have been detected with the variant,

The province said community transmission of the variants have been occurring over the past two months, however the province’s actives cases, hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths have continued to decline.

The province said it will continue to monitor variants through targeted and randomized surveys of positive COVID-19 cases.