Health
Saskatchewan reports 38 in ICU, 238 new coronavirus infections – Global News
No coronavirus deaths were included in Saskatchewan’s daily update on Sunday as the number of people in intensive care hit a new high.
Since Dec. 20, 2020, 40 deaths related to COVID-19 have been added to the province’s total, which is currently at 158.
In Saskatchewan, 152 people are currently in hospital with COVID-19 — 114 are receiving inpatient care and 38 are in intensive care. That is the highest number of coronavirus patients in ICUs to date in the province.
Health officials said there were a total of 238 new cases in Sunday’s update, with the overall total for the province growing to 16,083 since the first case was reported in March 2020. The officials added the new seven-day average of daily cases is up to 181.
According to a press release, most of the new cases are located in the north central zone with 50, while there are 42 in Saskatoon, 39 in far north east, 23 in north west, 20 in Regina, 17 in far north west, 14 in south east, 13 in south central, six in central east, two in north east as well as one each in central west and south west. Residence information is still pending for 10 new infections.
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There are currently 2,841 active cases in the province, health officials said. Active cases are total cases less recoveries and deaths.
Officials said 109 more people have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 13,084.
According to the press release, 2,103 COVID-19 tests were performed as of Jan. 3, 2021, in Saskatchewan. To date, 434,157 tests have been carried out in the province.
Provincial government officials said 3,866 doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine were provided up to Sunday as part of the pilot program in Regina and as part of the vaccine delivery plan’s first phase in Saskatoon.
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus. In some provinces and municipalities across the country, masks or face coverings are now mandatory in indoor public spaces.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.
© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
One more person in the Northern Health region has died from COVID-19, according to B.C. Centre for Disease Control numbers issued Tuesday.
The fatality increased the total to 53 in the region since the pandemic broke out and was among 12 deaths reported province-wide, increasing that total to 1,090 deaths. Seven of those new deaths were in Fraser Health, raising the total there to 611.
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Active cases in Northern Health stood at 525, down by six from the day before, with 40 in hospital, no change from Monday, and 17 of them in intensive care, up by one.
For B.C. as a whole, active cases rose by six to 4,331, with Fraser Health accounting for 1,737, up 34, and Vancouver Coastal 818, down 35. Interior Health stood at 1,055, Vancouver Island at 184 and out of Canada at 12 with marginal changes in those totals from Monday.
Meanwhile, Northern Health reported a new exposure D.P. Todd Secondary School. It is for Jan. 11-12 and is the second time the school has been put on the list.
“If your child’s school has been notified of an exposure, no action is required unless you are contacted by Public Health or are otherwise directed by school officials,” Northern Health says in the posting. “Public Health will contact you directly in case of any school exposure involving your child.”
In a joint statement, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and health minister Adrian Dix stressed good practices while people wait for the vaccine rollout.
“The vaccines are our path forward to the brighter days ahead. However, until that path is wide enough for everyone, we must continue to focus on our individual efforts,” they said.
“To get to the finish line faster and to make our communities safer, we must stop the spread in our communities today. We do that by following the measures we have in place: washing our hands, staying home when we are ill, getting tested and always using our layers of protection.
“Let’s choose safety by continuing to do our part to protect everyone in our province.”
Also on Tuesday, Dix said B.C. is still on track to begin administering second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine despite the news that no vials will be delivered to Canada next week.
Health
COVID-19 update: B.C.'s health ministry to reveal latest new cases, deaths, outbreaks – CTV News Vancouver
VANCOUVER —
British Columbia reported another 465 cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths related to the disease on Tuesday.
The province has now recorded a total of 61,912 coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic and 1,090 fatalities.
In a joint statement, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix offered condolences to “everyone who lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Another 443 people have recovered from the disease since B.C.’s last update, leaving 4,331 active cases across the province.
That includes 329 patients in hospital, 70 of whom are in intensive care.
The province has seen an average of 479 cases per day over the last week, which is similar to the number of infections that were being identified at end of December.
The rolling seven-day average increased to 582 cases per day after the first week of January, but has been gradually decreasing since.
Tuesday’s COVID-19 update came hours after the federal government confirmed Canada would not be receiving any new shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine next week. The country received 82 per cent of its expected shipment this week as a result of previously announced delays.
B.C. was expecting to receive about 5,800 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine next week, though Dix said the province still expects to be able to deliver second doses as scheduled.
Health officials have decided on a 35-day interval between doses, and Wednesday will mark 36 days from when B.C. began administering its first shots.
The province should be receiving 25,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine per week after the shortage ends, according to Dix.
While British Columbians await their turn to get immunized against COVID-19, Henry and Dix stressed the need to continue their individual efforts to limit the spread of the disease.
“To get to the finish line faster and to make our communities safer, we must stop the spread in our communities today. We do that by following the measures we have in place: washing our hands, staying home when we are ill, getting tested and always using our layers of protection,” they said.
“Let’s choose safety by continuing to do our part to protect everyone in our province.”
With files from The Canadian Press
WINNIPEG —
The City of Winnipeg has been allowing its employees to use gyms and fitness centres at its facilities amid code red restrictions due to an exemption for governments in health orders.
The City of Winnipeg confirmed to CTV News on Tuesday evening that fitness facilities in Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service and Winnipeg Police Service stations, along with six other facilities, have been open and operating for city employees only under a reduced capacity limit.
The city said these centres were used predominantly by first responders working in or near the buildings.
Under current health orders that have been in place in Manitoba since Nov. 12, all indoor sporting or recreational facilities, including gyms and fitness facilities, must be closed. Though some restrictions are expected to be eased when health orders expire on Friday, the province said gyms and fitness centres will be required to remain closed for now.
Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief provincial public health officer, said while the City of Winnipeg was not specifically given permission to operate its in-house gyms, the health orders that required gyms and fitness centres to close do not apply to any level of government.
“We expect governments to be able to regulate and so we’re not going to tell governments how they function,” Roussin said. “If they feel that they could have limited capacity and run these gyms for their employees for certain reasons, then we’re not regulating that.”
Roussin said if gyms and fitness centres were allowed to open across Manitoba, it could cause cases to spike.
He said he was aware that health inspectors visited some of the gyms operating at City of Winnipeg facilities, and found them safe.
Transcona Coun. Shawn Nason blew the whistle on social media about the city’s operation of fitness centres during code red restrictions.
“I’m disappointed in myself for being so distracted with the business at City Hall to have not raised the issue sooner than when I became aware today that the City was not covered under the blanket rules assigned by (the) Province,” Nason said in a statement to CTV News.
“Even though I didn’t access the gym at any time during the Code Red restrictions, we should respect the provincial orders and align ourselves with so many that have had to shutter their businesses due (to) this unprecedented time.”
A spokesperson for the city told CTV News the city was not aware until today that it was being allowed to operate its fitness centres solely because it is a municipal government.
“Several months ago, we sought clarification from provincial public health officials on whether fitness facilities within civic workplaces accessible only to, and for City employees, could remain open,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“The province advised us that these facilities could in fact continue to operate provided posted capacity limits and physical guidelines were maintained and adhered to.”
Despite the exemption, they said effective immediately the city is closing its employee fitness centres.
Fitness centres at Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service and Winnipeg Police Service stations will continue to operate because “mandatory fitness standards are a requirement of first responders’ jobs.”
“We will continue to encourage our employees to explore alternative ways of maintaining their physical health while adhering to public health guidelines,” they said.
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