Saskatchewan is back up to over 500 active cases of COVID-19, with several cases located in the far north east region - but none of the cases are located in the part of the region near Flin Flon.
In Saskatchewan, there are 40 active cases of COVID-19 in the far north east zone as of Oct. 22. All 40 active cases are located in the far north east 1 zone, which does not include communities like Creighton, Denare Beach, Sandy Bay and Pelican Narrows. Six new cases were reported in the zone Thursday. Six new cases were reported in the area Oct. 22.
The far north east 1 zone covers communities including La Ronge, Southend, Stanley Mission and other areas covered by the Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB). The Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority (NITHA) declared an outbreak for Southend Oct. 16, five days after issuing an outbreak declaration for the Stanley Mission Health Centre.
As of Oct. 21, 29 of the cases were in NITHA communities in the far north east region - NITHA coves First Nation communities within Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN), Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) and LLRIB.
Out of the 40 active cases in the far north east 1 zone, eight people who have been infected are children. Since the start of the school year, 340 tests on children have been conducted for COVID-19 in the zone according to data released by the provincial government Oct. 22 - including 193 in the past week alone.
The province saw 60 new cases Thursday, bringing Saskatchewan's total active case count up to 509 people. Out of those 509 people, 21 are hospitalized as a result of COVID-19, with three people in intensive care. Of the 60 new cases announced, more than half are in the Saskatoon and north central zones - 13 new cases in the north central zone, which includes Prince Albert, and 21 new cases in Saskatchewan's biggest city. Other regions with new cases include the north west (four new cases), Regina (four), north east (three), south east (two), far north west (two) and one new case in each of the central west, central east, south west and south central regions. The location of the one remaining case is still being determined by contact tracers.
