COVID-19 in Sask.: 2 deaths, 270 new cases on Saturday

Saskatchewan is reporting an increase of 270COVID-19 cases, 235 new recoveries and two more deaths from the illness.

The Saturday update from the province brings the provincial total to date to 19,985 cases, with 4,043 considered active.

Both of the Saskatchewan residents who died were from the Regina zone. One was in the 60-69 age group, and one was in the 80-plus age group.

The new cases are located in the following zones:

• Far northwest (10).
• Far north central (one).
• Far northeast (15).
• Northwest (49).
• North central (23).
• Northeast (13).
• Saskatoon (68).
• Central east (five).
• Regina (47).
• South central (six).
• Southeast (26).

The location information for seven other cases is pending.

There are now 199 people with COVID-19inhospital, including35in intensive care.

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 311, or 25.7 new cases per 100,000 people. Saturday's update said there were 235 recoveries.

There were 3,071 COVID-19 tests processed in the province on Friday. To date, 468,461 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan.

Record number of vaccines administered

The province administered 2,857 doses of COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, the highest single-day total in the province to date. The total number of vaccines administered in the province has now reached 16,927.

The daily number of vaccinations may drop over the next few weeks as Pfizer works to expand its European manufacturing facility.During this work, the American pharmaceutical giant willreducedeliveries of the COVID-19 vaccine it developed with BioNTech, potentially by half.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is one of the two approved for use in Canada so far.

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Health says vaccines will continue to be administered according to priority sequence.

The province received a shipment of 4,900 doses of theModerna vaccine, the other approved for use, on Friday. Distribution is already underway in the central and southeast zones. After a transportation delay caused by poor weather conditions, the far northeast region received its new doses Saturdaymorning.

Vaccination clinics will continue throughout the weekend.