Saskatchewan

COVID-19 in Sask.: Province tops hospitalization record, 1 new death Tuesday

Saskatchewan set a record for COVID-19 hospitalizations on Monday and did the same Tuesday, with 370 people now in hospital with the illness.

49% of eligible people 18 and up now have their COVID-19 vaccine booster dose

A nurse reaches toward a piece of medical equipment beyond the top of a patient's bed, while a monitor is seen in the foreground.
A nurse cares for a COVID-19 patient in an intensive care unit in a January 2022 file photo. In Saskatchewan, a record number of people are now in hospital with COVID-19 as of Tuesday. (Jean-François Badias/The Associated Press)

More people are in hospital now than ever before in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saskatchewan set a record for COVID-19 hospitalizations on Monday and did the same Tuesday, with 370 people now in hospital with the illness — up seven from Monday's number. That includes 39 people in intensive care.

One more death was also recorded, bringing that total to 993, according to the latest update on the province's online dashboard.

The province's test positivity rate is now 31 per cent.

On the vaccine front, 140 more first doses have been administered and 414 more people are now fully vaccinated in Saskatchewan as of Tuesday.

To date, 79 per cent of residents five years and older are fully vaccinated, and 49 per cent cent of eligible people age 18 and up have now received their booster dose.

Another 4 million rapid tests are scheduled to arrive in the province in February. According to the province, the tests are available at around 600 locations across Saskatchewan.

The province reported 661 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday and says there are now 11,370 known active cases in the province. However, those numbers are likely a significant undercount, because results from rapid antigen tests taken at home are not included in the province's totals.

Saskatchewan has also updated its COVID-19-related fine enforcement results, including a $14,000 fine issued to a Maple Creek bar and grill for failing to check for proof of vaccination or a negative test.

Nine individual fines of $2,800 for failure to mask were also issued: one in each of Grenfell, Fort Qu'Appelle, Leader, Wynard, Hudson Bay, two in Estevan and two others in Maple Creek.