COVID-19 in Sask: 6 new cases reported Saturday

Six new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Saskatchewan on Saturday: one in the north, one in the central area, one in Saskatoon and three in the south.

Eight people are now in hospital, down from 12 reported yesterday, which was a new high for the number of COVID-19 patients in hospital. Two of those hospitalizations are in intensive care.

One case reported July 11 as positive in the south has been updated to a negative result and removed from the total cases, the government said in its July 18 update.

With today's numbers and the false positive removed, the total number of reported cases in the province is 941. Of those cases, 798 people have recovered and 128 cases are considered active.

'COVID-19 does not discriminate'

On Thursday, the province reported its highest one-day increase since the pandemic began with 42 new confirmed cases, 31 of which were in the south region.

The province said this overall increased level of COVID-19 activity in southwest and west-central Saskatchewan means there is an increased risk of transmission to the public and the Saskatchewan Health Authority named 14 rural municipalities and areas with an increased risk.

In its July 18 update, the Government of Saskatchewan said that with the increase of cases in the south, "there have been reports of discrimination towards some Saskatchewan residents."

"This is unacceptable," the update reads. "Discrimination has no place in Saskatchewan. COVID-19 does not discriminate, as we have seen with cases across the province. This is why everyone must continue to take precautions and follow public health measures."

The update says health officials are working closely with the Hutterian Safety Council, local Hutterite leaders and local municipal leaders to increase testing and precautionary measures to protect these communities.

The majority of cases have been in the 20-39 age range, with 323 cases. The 40-59 age range has the second-highest number of cases with 295.

To date, 15 people have died due to COVID-19 complications.