Sask. reports deadliest day so far in December, with 4 new COVID-19 deaths

Saskatchewan has reported four new COVID-19-related deaths on Tuesday, making it the deadliest day of the month so far. 

The province also reported 47 new cases of the illness Tuesday.

As of Dec. 14, there have been 15 COVID-19-related deaths in the province this month.

That's a fraction of the 156 deaths recorded in October, the deadliest month of the pandemic in Saskatchewan.

There have been a total of 941 COVID-19-related deaths in Saskatchewan during the course of the pandemic, according to the province's online dashboard.

Of the four deaths reported Tuesday, one was a person in the 40 to 59 age range, one person was in the 60 to 79 group and two were people 80 or older. 

One of the deaths was in the Regina health zone, one was in the northeast and two were in the central east zone. 

The four deaths reported Tuesday come as the number of cases in the province continues to shrink.

Experts have repeatedly pointed out that hospitalizations and deaths are "lagging" pandemic indicators, and increases in those numbers can occur weeks after case numbers begin to drop. 

That's been the case in Saskatchewan, where case numbers have now dropped to levels not seen since the beginning of August. 

As of Tuesday, there were only 545 known active cases in the province.

That's far below the number of active cases reported during the peak of the fourth wave in October, when that number climbed above 4,800. 

There are also indications that vaccinations may be starting to drop off in the province. 

The province administered 820 new doses of COVID-19 vaccines on Monday, according to the dashboard.