COVID-19 in Saskatchewan: 8 new cases, including 7 in far north

There are eight new cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewanas of Saturday, including sevenin the province's far north region, according to the latest provincial update.

The province said testing and contact tracing continueto increase in the La Loche area, which has seen an outbreak of cases in the past 10 days, and work is continuingwith community leadership to ensure people who can are self-isolating.

Dr. Saqib Shahab, the province's chief medical health officer, signed a public health order Friday banning travel into and out ofnorthern Saskatchewan.

Of the 349 cases of COVID-19 reported in the province so far, 57 are still active. The province is reporting eight more recoveries as of Saturday, bringing the provincial total to 288.There have been four deaths in the province connected with the illness.

Four people remain in hospital with COVID-19 on Saturday, down from five on Friday. Two people are receiving in-patient care and two people are in intensive care.

Among the province's 349 cases, 138 are linked to travel; 146 are contacts or people linked to mass gatherings; 34 have no known exposure, and 31 cases are under investigation.

An additional 646 COVID-19 tests were conducted Friday,bringing the total number of tests conducted in Saskatchewan to 27,232.