There are 10 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on September 16, bringing the total to 1,751 reported cases. The new cases are located in the Saskatoon (7), North East (1) and Regina (1) zones and one (1) case location is pending.
To date, there have been 21 cases linked to the social gathering in Saskatoon initially reported in the provincial news release on September 13. Contact tracing efforts are underway, and it is likely that other cases will be identified before this chain of transmission is resolved.
Of the 1,751 reported cases, 107 are considered active. A total of 1,620 people have recovered.
Four people are in hospital receiving inpatient care in Saskatoon.
Investigations completed thus far have found that 32 of the 107 current active cases are from communal living settings.
To date, 163,151 COVID-19 tests have been performed in Saskatchewan. As of September 14, 2020 when other provincial and national numbers are available from Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 116,000 people tested per million population. The national rate was 167,392 people tested per million population.
Priority testing is available for those who are symptomatic, health care workers and first responders, teachers and school staff.
If you are asymptomatic and planning to travel but require a test, please allow a minimum of seven days from the date of your test through to notification of results. You can also view your results directly on MySaskHealthRecord.
Drive-through testing sites that do not require a referral are operating in Regina and Saskatoon. This is in addition to the testing and assessment centres currently open.
A valid Saskatchewan Health Card will be required for each person getting tested. A Canadian Armed Forces number or Interim Federal Health identification will also be accepted. You will be required to wear a mask during the registration process.
The drive-thru sites will be first come, first served so there may be some wait times. You must wait in your vehicle. There are no public washrooms available at these sites.
Saskatchewan residents are reminded that indoor and outdoor gatherings may have a maximum of 30 people, provided there is enough space to maintain a two metre separation between individuals who are not in the same household.
Gathering sizes should be smaller if there isn’t enough space to maintain a physical distance of two metres at all times.
For food service at gatherings, potlucks are discouraged and there should be no shared platters of food or shared buffet service. If food is being served, it should be plated. One person should handle the preparation of food and drink following proper food safety protocols. This reduces the number of people who crowd around or touch serving utensils or drink containers.