At his latest update news conference on COVID-19, the province’s chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab expressed condolences on the province’s 15th death from the coronavirus.
The death was of an individual from the far north in their 20s. Dr. Shahab added that it was “a reminder for all of us that while serious illness and death may be rarer in people who are younger, it does occasionally happen.”
“It is an unfortunate reminder to all of us that COVID (-19) does not discriminate by age or other factors, it is a risk to all of us.” He also emphasized that people needed to continue to take precautions throughout the summer.
Dr. Shahab also noted that most of the cases in Saskatchewan are in the 20-39 age range. There were 283 cases as of today. They continue to see increasing numbers of cases in all age groups including the young.
He urged people to continue to focus on physical distancing.
Dr. Shahab also was asked about the potential community transmission situation in the Prince Albert area. There were four cases identified in that area on Friday. As of Tuesday Dr. Shahab confirmed there were an additional two more, bringing the total to six for Prince Albert and area.
Dr. Shahab noted there had been an increase in hospitalizations seen in the P.A. area without a corresponding increase in cases in the community. What it shows is a “lack of testing happening in the P.A. area. Testing capacity is there, but it appears that people are not coming forward for testing if they have mild symptoms.”
He said testing was important so they could do contact tracing and isolation of cases and contacts. “This is the only proven way to break the chain of transmission,” said Dr. Shahab.
