REGINA — The Saskatchewan Ministry of Health's weekly COVID-19 integrated epidemiology (epi) report was issued Thursday, May 26 for the period ending May 21, and there are a few things you should know.
Case numbers still heading down
376 new cases were confirmed reflecting 0.3 laboratory-confirmed cases per 1,000 population, lower than the 465 new cases confirmed the previous week.
The majority of laboratory-confirmed cases this week were 50 years and older (53.5 per cent)
Lab tests and test positivity down
6,402 laboratory tests were performed in Saskatchewan reflecting 5.3 tests performed per 1,000 population. The number of tests was lower than the previous week (6,908).
One in eighteen laboratory tests were positive (weekly test positivity of 5.5 per cent), a decrease from the previous week (6.5 per cent).
Hospitalizations down
Total COVID hospitalized are 258, down 12 from the previous week.
The total COVID adult ICU/ICU surge is 10, down four.
Average daily admissions over past seven days is 15: down five.
Total COVID related illness is 90, down seven.
Total incidental COVID infection is 150, down 14
Total patients under investigation is 18, up nine.
Deaths are down
There were 12 newly-reported COVID-19 deaths (22 in the previous week).
Omicron BA.2 dominates again
The Omicron BA.2 sublineage accounted for 87.8 per cent of the variants of concern reported this week, which was higher compared to the previous week. BA.2 sublineage is more transmissible compared to pre-variant 2020 COVID-19 and BA.1 sub-lineages but there is no current evidence of increased severity.