Here are some highlights from the latest COVID-19 update provided by the Minister of health Paul Merriman and chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab in Regina.
The good news from Merriman Is that new cases of COVID-19 continued to go down in the last week.
He said that may be due to fewer people getting tested over the Christmas holidays, however Merriman did say that COVID-19 numbers have 鈥渄efinitely been trending in the right direction over the past couple of weeks.鈥� The seven-day average for new cases peaked at 292 on Dec. 12 but now it is down to 152.
As well thr number of active cases has dipped below 3000 for the first time since Nov. 24.
鈥淭he restrictions that we have in place are working,鈥� said Merriman. He thanked everyone in Saskatchewan for continuing to follow the public health orders.
There was also good news on another front: the arrival of the Moderna vaccine. He said they had received their first shipment that afternoon.
Merriman said that the Moderna vaccine is easier to transport and store than the Pfizer vaccine. The first doses will be sent to northern Saskatchewan where it will be given to long term care and personal care home residents and staff, and other priority health care workers.
Merriman noted that nearly 3000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine had been administered in Regina and Saskatoon. More doses of the Pfizer vaccine are expected to arrive next week.
The expectation is that the federal government will distribute much larger numbers of vaccines early in the new year.
Dr. Shahab provided some further detail on the numbers. In Regina, 1,834 vaccines have been administered and the remainder will be provided to care staff at Regina Pioneer Village and Santa Maria care homes. In Saskatoon, 3,900 doses of Pfizer vaccine were delivered Dec. 21 and 1,108 administered.
A total of 6,825 doses of the Pfizer vaccine are expected to be delivered each week of Jan. 11, 18 and 25. The Moderna vaccine will be delivered in biweekly shipments.
Starting next week, 3,900 doses of Pfizer vaccine will arrive Jan. 4 in Prince Albert. As for the Moderna vaccine, 4,900 doses will arrive in the province by Dec. 31 and the Far North Central and Far North West regions will receive these allotments. Half the doses will be held during the initial allotment as Sask Health monitors for efficacy, logistical requirements and delivery through the North.
Vaccine delivery will happen starting between Jan. 4 and 11 and the focus will be on priority populations: long term and personal care staff and health care workers.
