COVID-19 in Sask.: Record 11 deaths reported, 274 new cases

Saskatchewan set a grim new recordon Saturday, with 11 deaths reported due to COVID-19 the highest number reported in a single day since the start of the pandemic.

The deaths due to the illness reported Saturday include:

• Four people in their 80sin Regina.
• One person in their 50sand three people in their 80s in Saskatoon.
• A person in their 60s in the northeast zone.
• A person in their 70s and onein their 80s in the southeast zone.

Another 274 new cases of COVID-19 werereported in Saskatchewan on Saturday, bringing the province's total to 11,749.

Of those, 4,097 are considered active,but that number is expected to decline as older cases are reviewed and potentially designated as "recovered," the province said in its Saturday update.

The new cases reported Saturday include 78in Saskatoon, 57in Regina,43 in the northwest,23in the north central zone, 19 in the far northeast, 13in the central east,12insouth central, 10 in the southeast,eightin the far northwest,five in the northeast, and two new cases each in the southwest and south central zones.

The location of two other cases is pending.

One case reported onDec. 9 was assigned to the far northeast zone, and one from Dec. 8 was assigned to the north central zone.

The seven-day average of daily new cases was 292 as of Saturday, or 24.1 new cases per 100,000 people.

As of Saturday, there were 118 people in hospital with COVID-19, including 23in intensive care.

There were 3,622 COVID-19 tests conducted on Friday, bringing the provincial testing total to 383,000.