Four more residents who tested positive for COVID-19 have died, and 329 new cases were announced on Friday.

Three of the deceased were residents in the 80+ age group from the north-central, Regina, and southeast zones, and one resident was in their 70s from the south-central region.

Of the 329 new cases, 158 are located in Saskatoon, 61 in Regina, 23 in the northwest, 21 in the north-central, 16 in the southwest, 14 in the southeast, 11 in the central-east, eight in the far northwest, six in the central west, four in the far northeast, one in the northeast, and one in the south-central region. Five cases are pending resident information. A full map of 'cases-per-zone' can be found below.

The seven-day average of daily cases is now 268, or 22.1 new cases per 100,000 residents.

208 recoveries were also announced, bringing the total number of recoveries to 4,384.

3,263 cases are considered active, with 96 of those located in the 'south-central 2' sub-region, which includes Moose Jaw and the surrounding area. 

111 people are in hospital, with 95 receiving inpatient care and 16 in intensive care.

A local doctor from Moose Jaw, posted the following statement on social media Friday:

"In Moose Jaw the hospital is full; ICU beds are full. Staff members and RNs are positive. Over 100 positives in MJ area. 3 deaths. Covid cases in Hospital and LTC. Have nowhere to accommodate emergencies non-Covid or Covid. Patient flow severely affected. Believe me - this is not a flu! We don’t need you to do much - but the little you can will help! Wash hands, social distance and mask. And stop fighting!"

The government of Saskatchewan also announced details on a new pilot project that will be making its way to Moose Jaw.

New rapid point of care testing units (Abbott ID Now) with results in 15 minutes are being rolled out in a pilot program for hospitals in Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and Moose Jaw, and mobile testing locations to quickly determine status of an asymptomatic individual. This testing option will assist with hospital admissions and discharges to a long-term-care facility.

A rapid antigen test (Abbot Panbio) pilot project is also being rolled out to participating long-term care (LTC), personal care homes (PCH), and congregate living settings. Results are available in 15 minutes and used for rapid recurrent asymptomatic screening of staff and residents.

All rapid positive tests will be presumed positive and will need to be confirmed by a laboratory test for now.