An additional 9,968 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 470,715.

The 9,968 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered to residents living in the following zones: Far Northwest, 64; Far North Central, 5; Far Northeast, 91; Northwest, 471; North Central, 487; Northeast, 203; Saskatoon, 3,348; Central West, 268; Central East, 712; Regina, 2,620; Southwest, 236; South Central, 566; and Southeast, 566. There were 331 doses administered with zone of residence pending.

Eighty-two per cent of Saskatchewan residents over age 60 have received their first dose. Sixty-six per cent of those 40-plus have received their first dose. Forty-five per cent of those 18-plus have received their first dose.

Vaccination Booking System Open to Ages 35-plus
Beginning tomorrow, Thursday, May 6, eligibility in the provincial age-based immunization program will expand to include age 35-plus. It remains 18-plus for the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District. This applies to all immunization clinics: booked appointments, drive-thru/walk-ins, pharmacies and mobile clinics.

Due to supply, there are currently 11,200 Moderna doses available. Participating pharmacies will have a further 15,500 Moderna doses arrive later this week for distribution to begin early next week. As of today, the SHA has 6,000 appointments still available in their booking system. There are 8,000 doses available for Drive thru and walk in clinics beginning tomorrow through Monday.

Prioritized front-line workers are also eligible. A list of those occupations is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vax-eligibility. Eligible priority groups may visit a drive-thru or walk-in clinic, arrange an appointment with a participating pharmacy, or call 1-833-SaskVax (1-833-727-5829) to make an appointment through the SHA booking system. Prioritized front-line workers will be required to provide proof of employment at the time of immunization (a pay stub, letter from their employer, or a copy of a professional license).

There may be clinic options outside your community and residents are encouraged to consider those alternate locations for immunization. Additional stops should be avoided if possible. More clinics will be added as new vaccine shipments are received.

Residents aged 35+ may book online at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19 or by calling 1-833-SaskVax (1-833-727-5829). They may also attend a scheduled drive-thru or book at a participating pharmacy. Additional information on how to book your appointment is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-booking. Please do not call until you are eligible to book your vaccination appointment.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority has scheduled drive-thru and walk-in clinics throughout the province. For street addresses and hours of operation for these clinics, see www.saskatchewan.ca/drive-thru-vax.

The pharmacy vaccination pilot rollout continues, refining distribution and vaccination processes so appointments may be limited. Additional pharmacies in more communities will be added as larger volumes of vaccine become available. The current list of pharmacies participating in the pilot is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-pharmacies.

Individuals who experience a severe or unusual reaction after getting a COVID-19 vaccination can report it by calling 811. Anyone experiencing a severe reaction such as difficulty breathing should call 911. Any adverse event that may be related to a vaccination is reported in order to continuously monitor the safety of vaccines.

Be Safe and Limit Your Travel
Saskatchewan is a land of living skies and long highways. In a province as big as ours, travel is often required to meet the everyday needs of residents but we also start taking advantage of the warm weather to make get-away plans. At this time, please continue to minimize your travel. If residents are taking trips outside of their community, there are best practices to help reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission:

• Continue to follow the guidance of the current Public Health Orders.
• Manage as many retail or business needs in your home community as possible prior to any other destination.
• If you are travelling to or from a location with increased COVID-19 transmission, consider whether travel can be delayed.
• Where possible, travel in the same vehicle with members of your immediate household only.
• Travel directly from your home community to your destination with no unnecessary stops.
• Once you reach your destination, make as few stops as possible and minimize contact with residents of that community.
• Document date(s) of travel and the location of stops in case you need to refer to it later.
• While medical appointments are considered essential travel, access medical services in your home community only if possible.

Visitation to Eligible Long-Term and Personal Care Homes for the week of May 5
As of April 29, visitor (family presence) restrictions eased in some long-term and personal care homes when 90 per cent of residents have been fully vaccinated, three weeks after second doses are completed and considering the local COVID-19 context (eg. community transmission, cases within a facility).

• There will be no limit on the total number of designated family members/supports that residents can have, but only two may visit indoors at a time.
• Four visitors at a time will be allowed outdoors.
• If a fully-vaccinated resident goes on an outing, they will no longer be required to quarantine following their return.
• Residents that are not vaccinated can have visits from fully vaccinated family members/supports. Please bring proof of full vaccination.
• If the designated family members/supports are not vaccinated, family presence will continue to be permitted for compassionate care reasons only.
• Saskatchewan Health Authority medical health officers will have discretion to maintain restrictions to protect homes from potential risks of exposure.

There are many long-term and personal care homes throughout the province with small resident populations that may not be able to meet the visitor restriction threshold of 90 per cent of residents vaccinated if even one resident is unable to receive immunization. As a result, there will be flexibility for long-term and personal care homes with fewer than 10 residents.

• In homes with 10 or fewer residents, all but one resident must be fully vaccinated (both doses).
• In all cases, before visitor restrictions can be amended, at least three weeks must have passed since the last second doses were received.

The current list of SHA-operated long-term care homes currently eligible for family visitation is available at https://www.saskhealthauthority.ca/news/service-alerts-emergency-events/Pages/service-alerts.aspx. Restrictions will be reviewed weekly. Personal care homes are expected to meet the same requirements. Family of those residing in personal care homes will need to contact those homes to determine if they are currently able to safely support family visitation.

As of May 5, SHA long term care facilities in Regina and area who are not in outbreak may have outdoor visits with up to two members of the same household at once. The details are available at www.saskhealthauthority.ca/news/releases/Pages/2021/May/Regina-adjusts-Level-3-visitor-restrictions-May-5.aspx.

For more details on levels of family presence in care settings, visit www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/public-health-measures/guidance-for-health-care-facilities.

Daily COVID-19 Statistics
There are 196 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan May 5, bringing the provincial total to 42,203 cases.

Two new deaths are reported today. One death was reported in the 70-79 age group from Saskatoon; one death in the 70-79 age group from Regina.

The new cases are located in the following zones: Far Northwest, 2; Northwest, 17; North Central, 12; Northeast, 5; Saskatoon, 40; Central West, 2; Central East, 16; Regina, 44; Southwest, 15; South Central, 8; and Southeast, 31. Four new cases are pending residence information. Two cases with pending residence information have been assigned to the following zones: Northwest, 1; and Southeast, 1.

Recoveries total 39,452 and 2,250 cases are considered active.

There are 171 people in hospital. One hundred and thirty-two people are receiving inpatient care: Far Northwest, 1; Far Northeast, 1; Northwest, 7; North Central, 5; Northeast, 1; Saskatoon, 55; Central East, 4; Regina, 46; Southwest, 2; South Central, 4; and Southeast, 6. Thirty-nine people are in intensive care: North Central, 1; Saskatoon, 14; Central East, 2; and Regina, 22.

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 case number is 224 (18.2 new cases per 100,000). A chart comparing today’s average to data collected over the past few months is available at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness/covid-19/seven-day-average-of-new-covid-cases.

There were 3,255 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan May 4.

To date, 786,125 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of May 3, 2021, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 660,037 tests performed per million population. The national rate was 842,239.

As of May 4, 7,580 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the following zones: Far Northwest, 142; Far Northeast, 2; Northwest, 246; North Central, 150; Northeast, 32; Saskatoon, 897; Central West, 87; Central East, 321; Regina, 4,026; Southwest, 236; South Central, 560; and Southeast, 770. There are 111 screened VOCs with residence pending.

There are 443 new lineage results reported today. Of the 2,965 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 2,933 are B.1.1.1.7 (UK), 23 are P.1 (Brazilian) and nine are B.1.351 (SA). The Regina zone accounts for 1,875 (63 per cent) of the VOC cases with confirmed lineage reported in Saskatchewan.

Please note these VOCs may have been initially identified by means other than screening (i.e. selection for whole genome sequencing without screening). Whole genome sequencing results to identify lineage are included in the screening results. Confirmed variant of concern cases may appear in both columns on the website, depending on testing for that case. Adding the cases identified by screening and those that have received whole genome sequencing may result in double-counting individual cases.

Further statistics on the total number of cases among health care workers, breakdowns of total cases by source of infection, age, sex and region, total tests to date, per capita testing rate and current numbers of confirmed variants of concern can be found at http://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-cases.

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

Know your risk. Keep yourself and others safe: www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/about-covid-19/know-your-risk.