COVID-19: Saskatchewan surpasses 300 hospitalizations, province expands booster program

The Saskatchewan government has announced they are moving to phase two of their COVID-19 booster program as the province records over 300 hospitalizations for the first time.

Never has Saskatchewan recorded 300 or more hospitalizations resulting from COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began — until Tuesday.

The Saskatchewan government announced 449 new cases and 490 more recoveries in its COVID-19 update on Tuesday afternoon.

New cases were located in the following zones:

Saskatchewan also reported 10 new deaths from residents who tested positive for the virus. The total death count is now at 682.

While the active case count dropped by 54 cases from Monday’s amount to 4,734 on Tuesday, hospitalizations increased by 22 to 311.

Inpatient numbers are up to 246 province-wide, while the number of patients in intensive care units has moved up to 65. Saskatoon is reporting the most ICU patients at 29, followed by Regina at 17.

According to health officials, just over 77 per cent of the 311 patients who were eligible for vaccination are not fully immunized.

The government update noted that almost one-third, or 31 per cent, of new cases are in the age category of 20 to 39. In addition, one in six, or 16.8 per cent, of new cases eligible for vaccination were fully vaccinated.