Eighty-one (81) per cent of residents in long-term care homes across Saskatchewan have now received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Forty-three (43) per cent have received both their first and second dose and are now fully vaccinated.

“Our health care workers are doing an excellent job of administering vaccines quickly, safely and efficiently in long-term care facilities across the province,” health minister Paul Merriman said. “The only thing slowing them down is the shortage of vaccines from the federal government. When we get enough doses, we will be able to quickly finish vaccinating all the residents and staff in our long-term care homes. We look forward to having our seniors in long-term care fully vaccinated as soon as possible so they are protected from the threat of COVID-19.”

There were 920 COVID-19 vaccine doses administered yesterday in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 61,730. 

The 920 doses were administered in the Saskatoon (499), Northwest (43), Central East (187), and South Central (191) zones. The South Central (63) and Regina (4) zones reported an additional 67 doses administered Feb. 20.

For a listing of first and second doses in Saskatchewan administered by geographic zone, visit https://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-update.

Note we remain in Phase 1 of vaccine delivery, targeting residents and staff of long-term and personal-care homes, identified health care providers, residents 70 years and older and residents aged 50 and older in remote/northern Saskatchewan. Eligible populations will be contacted directly to receive their vaccinations. Registration for appointments for Phase 2 sequenced populations will be available when Phase 2 commences. Please do not contact HealthLine 811 to register for vaccinations at this time. Notification will be provided when the registration system is available.

Daily COVID-19 Statistics
There are 177 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan Feb. 22, bringing the provincial total to 27,797 cases.

The new cases are located in the Far Northwest (15), Far North Central (6), Far Northeast (5), Northwest (20), North Central (7), Northeast (7), Saskatoon (37), Central West (4), Central East (11), Regina (48), Southwest (1), South Central (5) and Southeast (3) zones and eight (8) cases have pending residence information. Two cases with pending residence information were assigned to the Northwest zone.

There are a total of 25,773 recoveries and 1,652 cases are considered active. 

One hundred seventy-seven (177) people are in hospital. One hundred sixty-two (162) people are receiving inpatient care: Far Northwest (8), Far North Central (2), Far Northeast (2), Northwest (15), North Central (17), Northeast (2), Saskatoon (58), Central West (1), Central East (8), Regina (42), South Central (2) and Southeast (5). Fifteen (15) people are in intensive care: Northwest (1), North Central (1), Saskatoon (8), Central East (1), and Regina (4).

There were 2,105 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan Feb. 21.

Please note, like most categories of statistics reported, daily testing numbers include those pending by location as noted in the footnotes daily on the Tests By Region page in the dashboard. Total testing numbers will include tests that are still pending by location; those numbers will not appear in the regional statistics until they are assigned.

To date, 561,183 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of Feb. 20, 2021, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 471,694 tests performed per million population. The national rate was 623,697 tests performed per million population.

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 158 (12.9 new cases per 100,000). A chart comparing today’s average to data collected over the past several months is available on the Government of Saskatchewan website. Visit https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness/covid-19/seven-day-average-of-new-covid-cases.

Further statistics on the total number of cases among healthcare workers, breakdowns of total cases by source of infection, age, sex and region, total tests to date and the per capita testing rate can be found on the Government of Saskatchewan website. Visit www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/cases-and-risk-of-covid-19-in-saskatchewan.

Assess Your Risk and Get Tested
The Government of Saskatchewan continues to recommend against all non-essential travel. International travelers must abide by federal testing and quarantine measures. If you choose to travel inter-provincially, get tested as soon as you return to Saskatchewan and plan for a follow up test seven days later.

The presence of new variants across Canada means an elevated risk of bringing more transmissible strains of COVID-19 home with you. While you cannot test your way out of travel risks, testing is the best tool available to protect your family, friends and all residents of Saskatchewan against COVID-19 if you have travelled.

You do not need to be experiencing symptoms in order to have COVID-19. Find testing options near you at https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/testing-information.

Enforcing Public Health Measures
Enforcement of public health orders is permitted under The Public Health Act, 1994. Public health inspectors will be supported in their efforts to ticket violators quickly to ensure businesses and events are brought into compliance as quickly as possible, in addition to the enforcement efforts that have been undertaken by police agencies throughout the province.

For more information on the current public health measures or to see the Public Health Order, visit www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-measures.

General COVID-19 Information
General public inquiries may be directed to COVID19@health.gov.sk.ca.