COVID-19 in Sask: Outbreak declared at 2 Hutterite communities in R.M. of Maple Creek

The Saskatchewan Health Authority declaring a COVID-19 outbreak Wednesday in two Hutterite communities in the rural municipality of Maple Creek.

Two people in the same household in the area tested positive last week, the health authority said. On Wednesday, another 14 cases were linked to the outbreak.

"Contact tracing and active case finding is underway in targeted areas of the R.M. Cases are being investigated for connection to interprovincial travel to Alberta as well travel in the area," the authority's public health advisory said.

Residents in the southwestern Saskatchewan municipality are advised to monitor themselves for any potential symptoms.

9 new cases

Earlier Wednesday, the province said nine new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Saskatchewan. Seven of them are in the far north region and the remaining two are in the Saskatoon area.

There are 47 known active cases in Saskatchewan as of Wednesday. Two more people have recovered, meaning there have been 633 recoveries since March.

There have been 693 cases of COVID-19 recorded in Saskatchewan overall. Seven of the positive tests were from labs outside of Saskatchewan.

Two active cases are in hospital, with one of those patients requiring intensive care. Both are in Saskatoon.

The province processed an additional 502 tests on Tuesday. There have been 57,217 tests in total. 

Twenty-nine of the active cases are in the far north region, one in the north region, 13 in the Saskatoon area and two in the southern region.

There have been 284 cases reported in the far north region overall, along with 112 cases in the north region, 184 in the Saskatoon area, 80 in the Regina area, 19 in the southern region and 12 in the central region.

The province has traced 146 cases to travel and 417 cases to community contacts or mass gatherings. Another 48 cases still are being investigated. There are 82 cases with no known exposure.

Thirteen Saskatchewan people have died after being diagnosed with COVID-19 since the virus was first detected in the province in March.

No cases linked to Black Lives Matter marches

No cases of COVID-19 have been linked to the Black Lives Matter protest marches recently held in Saskatoon and Regina, according to Saskatchewan's chief medical health officer.

The gatherings were held in the wake of the killing of a Black man, George Floyd, by police in the U.S. last month, and in condemnation of police brutality and systemic racism. 

Thousands of people attended the demonstrations, with many participants wearing masks and keeping a safe distance from other small groups.

Dr. Saqib Shahab said on Tuesday that while Saskatoon has recently seen a slight increase in COVID-19 case numbers, those have mostly been linked to international travel or people who became infected while living with a person who had the virus.

"So far all the cases are accounted for," Shahab said. "They aren't pop-up cases happening all over the city, which is important."

Shahab again reminded people who take part in communal events to monitor their symptoms for two weeks afterwards and seek testing if they feel unwell.

They should avoid sharing food or passing objects at those events, he added. 

"But so far we have not seen any transmission linked to that," Shahab said of the protests.