Still 0 confirmed coronavirus cases in Sask. after latest week of testing

There remain zero confirmed cases of Saskatchewan residents with theCOVID-19 coronavirus.

Another 25 people in the province were tested for COVID-19 in the last week, as the parameters for testing were widened by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Saskatchewan's Ministry of Health provides updates on the status of the virus in the province at this website.The page is being updated every Wednesday unless there is a confirmed case of coronavirus in the province, in which case the ministry says it will update the page immediately and send out an emergency public service announcement.

As of Feb. 24, 27 people had been tested for the virus.According to the latest update provided Wednesday morning, another 25 people were tested from Feb. 24 to March 2, bringing the total number of "persons under investigation" to 52.

Outof the 25 latest tests, seven results are still being worked on.

The bump in Saskatchewan tests came during the same week that thePublic Health Agency of Canada expanded the testing protocol. At that time, it was recommended that COVID-19 testing be considered for persons with fever, cough, or shortness of breath with any of the following exposure histories:

• A history of travel from mainland China within 14 days of symptom onset.
• A history of travel to countries listed in the Government of Canada webpage within 14 days of symptom onset.
• Any person who has had close contact with a laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patient within 14 days of symptom onset.
• Had close contact with a person with acute respiratory illness who has been to the affected area within 14 days before they became ill.
• If there are circumstances outside of the above that the clinician feels warrants testing for COVID-19, they must advise the local Medical Health Officer that testing is being conducted.

A two-step testing process

To test for the virus in Saskatchewan, an initial "presumptive" test is conducted at the Roy Romano Provincial Lab in Regina. Those test results come back within 24 hours or less, according to the ministry.

"Confirming a case requires that the specimen be tested at the National Microbiology Laboratoryin Winnipeg," according to the ministry. Those results take two to three days.

The ministry cited privacy legislation when asked if it could confirm how many of the first 27 Saskatchewan people tested had recently travelled to countries with confirmed coronavirus cases.

"We are unable to provide details on the individuals who have been tested to date as it would be a breach of patient privacy," a ministry spokesperson said."Although all confirmed cases in Canada to date have been relative to travel or close contacts, the list of countries with COVID-19 cases is expanding and testing guidelines are broadening to improve surveillance."

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CBC News asked if demographic information, such a person's age, gender and travel history, would be released publicly in the case of a confirmed coronavirus case in Saskatchewan.

"If we were to have a confirmed case, decisions about that demographic information would be made at that time," the spokesperson said."If the details made the person identifiable in any way we could not release that information under the rules set out by [privacy legislation]."

Read a fact sheet below about the virus from the Public Health Agency of Canada. Dont see it? Click here.