Sask. projected to top 300 new cases of COVID-19 per day again soon

"Modelling has shown that we're following a trajectory that is going to put Saskatchewan in a really precarious situation," a doctor says.

'We're following a trajectory that is going to put Saskatchewan in a really precarious situation': doctor

Guy Quenneville CBC News Posted: Aug 27, 2021 7:14 PM EDT | Last Updated: August 27, 2021

Saskatchewan physicians say indoor masking is needed to curb community transmission of COVID-19. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)

A new modelling projection suggests the daily number of new COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan could top 300 soon.

If that happens, it would be the first time since April 12, when the province reported 304 new cases of COVID-19.

"Overall, I think modelling has shown that we're following a trajectory that is going to put Saskatchewan in a really precarious situation with very high case numbers and high demand on our hospital system," saidDr. Jenny Basran, asenior medical information officer for the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

Basran was speaking Thursday during a virtual town hall attended by Saskatchewan doctors. She was referring to research recently conducted by an independent modelling group based in B.C.

These modelling graphs from an independent B.C. group cited by the Saskatchewan Health Authority show, at top, Saskatchewan's projected daily case count heading into September (with the red star representing the 158 cases announced on Wednesday) and, at bottom, the projected number of hospitalizations. (pypm.ca)

Basran shared the numbers with the usualcaveat.

"Just a reminder that modelling is not a crystal ball," she said."We can't predict exactly what the numbers are going to be. What we do is we project different what-if scenarios."

The majority of new infections will be cases of the delta variant, according to the modelling.

A chart showing trends in the portions of COVID-19 cases made up by specific variants. (pypm.ca)

Saskatchewan is close to reaching the 300-mark for new daily cases already.

On Friday, health officials reported 258 new cases of COVID-19, the highest daily bump seen in the province since May 8.

Doctors presenting at Thursday's virtual town hall said community transmission rates need to be curbed by indoor masking, requiringvaccinations for health-care workers and potential vaccine passports for large social events.

The Saskatchewan government has announced no such plans.

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Ryan Meili, the leader of the Opposition Saskatchewan NDP, said modelling of future COVID-19 casesis also happening through the Ministry of Health.

"But they're not allowed to share it because[Health Minister] Paul Merriman doesn't want them to. [Premier] Scott Moe and Paul Merriman will do everything they can to shut up any criticism of their failure to protect us from COVID 19," Meili said.

CBC News has reached out to the Ministry of Health for comment.

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