Sask. reports deadliest day so far in December, with 4 new COVID-19 deaths

Saskatchewan has reported four new COVID-19-related deaths on Tuesday, making it the deadliest day of the month so far. 

The province also reported 47 new cases of the illness Tuesday.

As of Dec. 14, there have been 15 COVID-19-related deaths in the province this month.

That's a fraction of the 156 deaths recorded in October, the deadliest month of the pandemic in Saskatchewan.

There have been a total of 941 COVID-19-related deaths in Saskatchewan during the course of the pandemic, according to the province's online dashboard.

Of the four deaths reported Tuesday, one was a person in the 40 to 59 age range, one person was in the 60 to 79 group and two were people 80 or older. 

One of the deaths was in the Regina health zone, one was in the northeast and two were in the central east zone. 

The four deaths reported Tuesday come as the number of cases in the province continues to shrink.

Experts have repeatedly pointed out that hospitalizations and deaths are "lagging" pandemic indicators, and increases in those numbers can occur weeks after case numbers begin to drop. 

That's been the case in Saskatchewan, where case numbers have now dropped to levels not seen since the beginning of August. 

As of Tuesday, there were only 545 known active cases in the province.

That's far below the number of active cases reported during the peak of the fourth wave in October, when that number climbed above 4,800. 

There are also indications that vaccinations may be starting to drop off in the province. 

The province administered 820 new doses of COVID-19 vaccines on Monday, according to the dashboard.

That's the lowest daily total since vaccinations opened for five- to 11-year-olds in the province, and well below the 5,430 administered on Dec. 1 — the peak for vaccinations so far this month.

Only 562 people received a first vaccine dose Monday while 258 people received their second.

As of Tuesday, 82.8 per cent of those eligible for vaccination in Saskatchewan have at least one dose, and 74.7 per cent are fully vaccinated. 

No out-of-province patients

The trends in Saskatchewan have continued to look good for the province, with COVID-19 hospitalizations unchanged from Monday. 

There are still 110 people in hospital, 34 of whom are in intensive care.

Of the 110 patients, 69 were not fully vaccinated, according to the provincial government. 

The province said in a news release Tuesday afternoon that the last COVID-19 patient receiving treatment in Ontario has now returned home. 

Since October, 27 people had been airlifted to Ontario in an attempt to alleviate the number of ICU admissions in the province during the peak of the fourth wave. 

The province also says there are no new cases from the omicron variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

There have been five cases connected with that variant in the province, after one new case was reported Monday. 

The 47 new cases reported Tuesday were in the following health zones: 

• Far northwest: one. 
• Northwest: four.
• North central: five. 
• Saskatoon: 13.
• Central east: five.
• Regina: 13.
• South central: one.
• Southeast: four.

Residence information is pending for one new case.

The province also reported 1,397 COVID-19 tests performed on Tuesday. 

With 47 new cases, that result in a test positivity of three per cent.

That is also the seven-day rolling average for test positivity in the province.