Saskatchewan’s monthly COVID-19 report showed the number of confirmed outbreaks jumped 1,500% in care facilities over the previous report..In the July 17 to August 13 report, the number of confirmed outbreaks went to 46 from only three in the previous report..An outbreak is when at least one patient, resident, or healthcare worker tests positive..The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) only tracks outbreaks in long-term care facilities and care homes. .“The increase in outbreaks in long-term care homes is extremely troubling and our primary concern should be the protection of our most vulnerable population,” the NDP told the Western Standard in a statement..The percentage of the population that received at least one booster dose went from 44.6% to 44.8% as most Saskatchewanians are not taking the booster doses..The SHA said “with approximately 45% of the population receiving at least three doses, more Saskatchewan residents need to receive their COVID-19 booster doses.”.“As our health care system continues to face capacity issues, it is on all of us collectively to follow medical advice to ensure that our health system is not overrun and is available to those that need it most,” said the NDP..The average number of confirmed new cases went from an average of 209 to 381 per week. .The test positivity increased from 4% to 7.4% with Saskatoon and Central East regions having the highest test positivity rate at 10%..Hospital admissions rose from 88 to 122 per week, but more than 70% of hospitalizations are people over the age of 60..The number of people in the ICU remained stable with only an increase from six to seven people per week, but over 65% of ICU admissions were people over the age of 60..The average number of deaths related to COVID-19 stayed steady at seven per week..To lessen the severity of COVID-19, 89 Remdesivir prescriptions were filled and 789 courses of Paxlovid..More than 22.1 million rapid antigen test kids were distributed..The SHA started releasing its COVID-19 report monthly instead of weekly.
