COVID-19 in Sask.: 9 new deaths reported after database error causes delay

The Saskatchewan government added nine COVID-19-related deaths and removed one from the pandemic total on Friday, after health officials said a database error caused a delay in death recording over the last two weeks.

"The notable length of time without a new death being reported initiated an audit of reporting systems," the province said on its online COVID-19 dashboard.

Dr. Saqib Shahab, the province's chief medical health officer, explained that the audit found the program used was refreshed — and, as a result, reset — after the new year.

"There are several anomalies that were identified, including potential missing data, which has been corrected to ensure accuracy and transparency in how data is collected and reported to the public," Shahab said during a virtual news conference Friday afternoon.

He emphasized that the number of new cases, hospitalization and ICU statistics were not affected by the error, since a different program is used to track those numbers.

The nine COVID-19-related deaths occurred between Jan. 1 and 21, Shahab said, noting the specific dates were unknown. He said five people who died were in the 80-plus age category, while another two each were in their 70s and 60s.    

There are several anomalies that were identified, including potential missing data, which has been corrected to ensure accuracy and transparency in how data is collected and reported to the public.- Dr. Saqib Sahab, provincial medical health officer

In an emailed statement Friday afternoon, Premier Scott Moe said he was "saddened" to learn about the additional COVID-19 deaths, but noted it's important the data had been discovered.

"It is troubling that this information was not being properly reported in the government's daily COVID-19 updates," he said. "We will continue to track the data closely, both from Saskatchewan and other provinces."

Moe also reiterated that no new public health restrictions would be put in place at this time, despite recent calls from major health-care unions.

The province said another audit of the COVID-19 test reporting systems led officials to find another 2,693 negative COVID-19 test results from third-party PCR tests dated from July to November 2021. Those results have since been added onto the dashboard.

"Recent audits found that this manual entry was missed or not correctly integrated into provincial databases. These manual processes have now been automated," the province said, noting weekly average calculations will likely be affected.

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Test positivity rate down, PCR testing up

Saskatchewan's test positivity rate — the percentage of people who test positive through PCR tests — fell to 31 per cent on Friday, down from Thursday's 33 per cent.

The province reported 6,696 more tests Friday. However, 2,693 of those were negative tests that the audit discovered that had previously not been added to the provincial dashboard.

That means there were 4,003 new tests done Thursday included in Friday's report. The new tests led to 1,256 new positive results.

Saskatchewan's seven-day rolling average of test positivity sat at 33 per cent, while the known active COVID-19 case count was 12,199.

However, these numbers are likely understated as they don't take into account everyone who tests positive for the virus on an at-home rapid test.

Hospitalizations steady at 215 patients — 23 in ICU

There were 215 people in hospital on Friday, including 23 patients in intensive care — unchanged from the day before.

Of the 192 inpatients, 88 are hospitalized for a COVID-19-related illness, while 89 are "incidental" COVID-19 infections and 15 are undetermined.

Fifteen of the 23 people in ICUs are there due to COVID-19, while another seven are getting treatment for an "incidental" COVID-19 infection and one patient is undetermined.

1,313 more people fully vaccinated

The province reported another 2,123 COVID-19 vaccinations on Friday — 810 were first doses and 1,313 were second shots.

The Saskatoon region saw the most doses delivered at 828, followed by the Regina area at 334 and the east-central part of Saskatchewan — which covers Yorkton and Melville — at 144.

As of Friday, 882,750 people in Saskatchewan are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.