The only people who should be travelling in the North are people going back to their primary residence or those going to La Ronge or Stony Rapids. No travelling between communities or stopping in them. That, as 19 of the 26 new cases in the province as of Friday are in the Far North which is La Loche and surrounding area. Four are in the North with three of those in Lloydminster, one in Prince Albert and three are in Saskatoon. To date, Saskatchewan has now recorded 415 cases of COVID 19 and the number of active cases has jumped to 112.
It’s expected about 750 households in the La Loche area will be screened and tested for COVID-19 over the next 3 to 5 days. The hope is to get ahead of the virus which has taken such a toll on the town and surrounding community. Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer says 19 mobile testing teams have been deployed and will be going door-to-door in La Loche, at the Clearwater River Dene Nation, and also Black Point and Garson lake.
Dr. Saqib Shahab says staff are being reallocated to help out in the north with testing, contact tracing, home monitoring and environmental and security services. Between La Loche and Lloydminster, it’s estimated between 60 and 80 staff have been deployed to help out.
A patient in Prince Albert originally tested negative and was admitted with a non-COVID-19 medical need, but after some symptoms began the patient was re-tested and it was positive, so any staff that may have had contact was sent home until all testing and contact tracing has been completed. While there is only one COVID 19 positive case involving a patient at Victoria Hospital in Prince Albert, an outbreak has been declared. You can read more about the Victoria Hospital situation here.
There are currently 10 people in hospital; seven are receiving inpatient care (four in the North region and three in Saskatoon) and three are in intensive care (in Saskatoon).
Of the 415 cases in the province:
• 138 cases are travellers;
• 163 are community contacts (mass gatherings included);
• 38 have no known exposures; and
• 76 are under investigation by local public health.
Overall in Saskatchewan:
• 40 of the cases are health care workers; however, the source of the infections may not be related to health care in all instances.
• 156 of the cases are from the Saskatoon area, 81 from the north, 75 from the Regina area, 77 from the far north, 15 from the south, and 11 from the central region.
• 39 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, while the remainder are adults.
• 151 cases are in the 20-39 age range; 139 are in the 40-59 age range; 73 are in the 60-79 age range; and 13 are in the 80-plus range.
• 50 per cent of the cases are males and 50 per cent are females.
• Six deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported to date.
To date, 30,357 COVID-19 tests have been performed in the province. As of April 29, 2020, when other provincial and national numbers were available from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 23,658 people tested per million population, which exceeds the national rate of 20,971 people tested per million population.
The following measures should also be observed:
• Limit outings to one person per household, or limit the occupants in a vehicle only to members of the same household.
• Carpooling or ride sharing should be discontinued wherever possible. If carpooling must occur, physical distancing should be maintained as much as possible. This may include having people sit in the back.
• Everyone in the vehicle must wash their hands frequently and practice good respiratory etiquette (cover sneezes and coughs with a tissue or your arm). Consider wearing a cloth or surgical mask when unable to maintain two metre distance from non-family members.
• Stay home. Do not travel or share a vehicle if you are ill or have symptoms of COVID-19.
• People may travel to the closest community of their primary home to buy essential goods and services that are not available in their home community.
• Follow physical distancing directions provided by the grocery store. Keep a distance of two metres from other customers, even in the checkout line.
• Do not go shopping if you are sick or symptomatic. Make use of community or delivery services where possible.
Communities without grocery stores are encouraged to create bulk purchasing plans with its members in order to limit travel. Communities should also work with their regional partners to facilitate efficient critical travel to and from hubs for items such as groceries and medication. Shoppers should contact stores prior to visiting in case there are customer limits.
