Ten people diagnosed with COVID-19 have died, while 208 more people have been diagnosed with the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
The latest data update includes information from Dec. 28 and 29. There are 175 people in hospital and 405 new recoveries.
The new cases brings the provincial total to date to 15,022 cases.
On December 28, there were 94 new cases. On December 29, there were 114 new cases.
For December 28 and 29, 10 Saskatchewan residents who tested positive for COVID-19 have died. One death in the 20-29 age group was reported in the Saskatoon zone. Two deaths in the 60-69 age group were reported in the North Central and Saskatoon zones. One death in the 70-79 age group was reported in the Regina zone. Six new deaths in the age group 80+ were reported in the Far North West, North West, North Central, Central East and Regina (two) zones.
The Northern Inter Tribal Health Authority (NITHA) is welcoming the provincial government’s vaccine rollout plan, which was announced last week.
NITHA’s Medical Health Officer Dr. Nnamdi Ndubuka said the health authority has been looking forward to having the vaccine. He added they have been planning about how to get the vaccine to people.
“With that announcement we have continued to work with our northern community leadership and also our health directors and our northern team on the front line to plan the distribution,” he said.
Ndubuka explained people living in the north will be getting the vaccine made by Moderna, which was just approved by Health Canada Wednesday. This is because the vaccine manufactured by Pfizer needs to be kept at very cold temperatures before it is administered, which makes transporting it to more remote communities an issue.
SASKATOON The Saskatchewan RCMP and Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority (NITHA) encourage residents to continue following guidance from public health officials and follow public health orders. “As Saskatchewan’s provincial police force, we will continue to be present in your community to provide services and help to ensure community safety 24 hours a day, seven days a week and throughout the holiday season,” Supt. Ted Munro, of the Saskatchewan RCMP’s North District Management Team, said in a news release. “We continue to work closely with health officials including NITHA to investigate calls for service that violate the (public health orders) to help maintain public health and safety.”
The COVID-19 pandemic makes 2020 a year many may prefer to forget, but there is hope for the future. We’ve decided to make that the focus of our series of end-of-year stories.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented turmoil to our healthcare system, it has also forced significant progress to be made in deploying additional supports to northern communities.
The Medical Health Officer for the Northern Intertribal Health Authority (NITHA), Dr. Nnamdi Ndubuka said there has been an increase in virtual clinics and the use of remote technology to deliver health services over the past year, including the deployment of more ‘Doc-in-a-box’ through the pandemic period.