Sask. COVID-19 dashboard goes dark in transition to 'Living with COVID'

COVID-19 debated at the Legislature WATCH: On day two of Spring Session at the Saskatchewan Legislature COVID-19 was again front and centre. Allison Bamford explains.

The Saskatchewan government pulled the plug on its COVID-19 dashboard on Monday.

"COVID-19 surveillance will now align with reporting for other communicable diseases. Indicators continue to be monitored and contribute to routine surveillance for COVID-19, influenza and other respiratory illnesses," said a health ministry news release last week titled "Living with COVID."

Since the start of the pandemic, the dashboard has been updated each day with data, including new cases, hospitalizations, deaths, recoveries and vaccinations. The data was also broken down into 13 zones.

Starting this week, public health will instead report COVID-19 epidemiological information weekly on Thursdays. The report will provide the new laboratory-confirmed cases, deaths, tests, and vaccination information overall and by zone, the release said.

The release does not mention the inclusion of other previously reported dashboard metrics such as hospitalizations, active cases, total cases and the seven-day average of daily new cases.

The reporting of lab-confirmed cases will not capture the full number of Saskatchewan residents who test positive for COVID-19, since PCR testing is being reserved for priority populations at elevated risk for severe outcomes, such as symptomatic immunocompromised people, hospitalized patients and long term care residents.

The province is also scrapping its online test booking system Monday with walk-in and drive-thru testing sites to follow. PCR testing will only be booked by appointments made through HealthLine 811.

Residents who require PCR test results for travel, insurance claims, or in lieu of proof of vaccination, must buy a test from a private lab service.

Instead, free rapid antigen tests are available at approximately 600 locations around the province.

While research has shown false-positives are rare, a study last year found that rapid tests showed an overall sensitivity - the ability to correctly identify if a person has coronavirus - of 81 per cent.

"At-home rapid testing has enabled individuals to self-manage, given the prevalence of asymptomatic or mild illness for the majority of those who contract Omicron. Residents now have reasonable self-management tools to safely navigate day-to-day activities," the ministry release said.

The provincial COVID-19 dashboard will be discontinued and its information archived, according to the ministry.