The Saskatchewan Health Authority is warning of the increased rise of COVID-19 variants in Moose Jaw, recommending that provincial residents avoid all unnecessary travel to and from the friendly city.

It's also recommended that all residents continue to wear their mask in all public places including all workplaces, wash non-medical masks daily, maintain physical distancing, wash their hands frequently, reduce activities outside of your home, order take-out or curbside pick-up, and If you are able to work from home, work from home at this time.

DAILY UPDATE

199 new cases of COVID-19 were also reported Thursday, as well as 205 recoveries.

Of the new cases, 13 are in the south-central zone, 115 are in Regina, 28 in the southeast, 14 in Saskatoon, 10 in the northeast, 9 in the north-central zone, five in the central-east, three in the far northeast, one in the central-west, and one in the south-west.

1,949 cases are considered active, with 121 of those located in the sub-region 'south-central 2', which is made up of Moose Jaw and the surrounding area.

193 people are in hospital, with 159 of those receiving inpatient care, and 34 are in intensive care.

VACCINES

It was also announced that eligibility for vaccinations will be expanding Friday. Starting at 8 am, Residents aged 58 and up will be able to book their vaccination online or over the phone

An additional 7,706 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 200,633.

The 7,706 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered in the following regions: Far North West (381), Far North East (262), North Central (48), North East (22), Saskatoon (2,294), Central West (11), Central East (1111), Regina (2,110), South West (839), South Central (101) and South East (527).