Four of the six new COVID-19 cases reported in Saskatchewan today are not related to travel, according to officials.
“This is the start of a new phase for us,” said the province’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab.
Until now, all cases were attributed to travel. Of the four now considered community transmitted, one is in Regina, two are in Saskatoon and one is in the central region.
Saskatchewan now has 72 cases, while next door Manitoba has 21.
Shahab couldn’t explain why there were so many more cases in one province than the other.
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Saskatchewan says 60 percent of the cases are in males and 40 percent in females. Two are under age 19, 59 are between 20 and 64 and 11 are 65 and older.
Most of the cases are in Saskatoon, at 34, followed by Regina at 22. The north has three, central has eight and south has five.
The Manitoba cases remain concentrated in Winnipeg. There are 17 cases there, two in Interlake-Eastern and two in Southern Health.
Manitoba has tested 4,520 people and Saskatchewan has tested 5,757.
Alberta will update its numbers later today.
In Canada, 25 people have died and nearly 2,600 have tested positive.
Saskatchewan Health Authority CEO Scott Livingstone said the province is modelling scenarios to determine what capacity it would need, including establishing field hospitals in places such as schools.
He said models are being developed for Saskatoon, Regina, the north and rural areas as data comes in.
karen.briere@producer.com
