In the April 16 COVID-19 update from The Saskatchewan Health Authority they are reporting 221 new cases of the virus in the province.

Of those 221 cases there are 5 in the Far North West zone, 5 in the Far North East zone, 21 in the North West zone, 8 in the North Central zone, 4 in the North East zone, 25 in the Saskatoon zone, 1 in the Central West zone, 11 in the Central East zone, and 57 in the Regina zone.

There are currently 18 new cases in the South West zone, 25 in the South Central zone, and 25 in the South East zone.

There are 16 new cases with pending residence information.

Five cases with pending residence information have been assigned as follows - 1 to the Far North East zone, 1 to the Regina zone, 1 to the Saskatoon zone, and 2 to the South East zone.

Ten cases that were tested out of the province have been added - 2 to the Far North East zone, 4 to the Far North West zone, 3 to the North West zone, and 1 to the Central West zone.

That brings the provincial total number of cases to 37,615, of which 2,603 are considered active.

There are currently 84 active cases in the South West zone -  43 in the South West subzone 1, and 41 in the South West subzone 2.

There are 2 new deaths to report. One death was reported in the 60-69 age group from the North West zone, and one death was reported in the 40-49 age group from the South East zone.

That brings the provincial total number of deaths to 462.

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 264 (21.6 new cases per 100,000 population).

There are 225 recoveries reported, bringing that provincial total to 34,550.

To date, 721,225 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan.

And yesterday, there were 3,739 COVID-19 tests processed.

There are 190 people in hospital. One hundred and forty-six people are receiving inpatient care - 1 in the Far North West zone, 1 in the Far North East zone, 5 in the North West zone, 7 in the North Central zone, 2 in the North East zone, 39 in the Saskatoon zone, 13 in the Central East zone, 66 in the Regina zone, 4 in the South Central zone, and 8 in the South East zone.

There are 44 people in intensive care - 1 in the North Central zone, 9 in the Saskatoon zone, 1 in the Central East zone, and 30 in the Regina zone.

There is currently 1 person in intensive care in the South West zone, and 2 in the South Central zone.

As of April 16, 4,326 variants of concern have been identified by screening in the province - 11 in the Far North West zone, 2 in the Far North East zone, 57 in the North West zone, 49 in the North Central zone, 4 in the North East zone, 385 in the Saskatoon zone, 44 in the Central West zone, 158 in the Central East zone, and 2,731 in the Regina zone.

There are 70 variants of concern cases in the South West zone, 349 in the South Central zone, and 419 in the South East zone.

There are 47 cases with residence pending.

There are 277 new lineage results reported. Of the 1,712 variants of concern cases with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 1,703 are B.1.1.1.7(UK), and 9 are B.1.351 (SA).

The Regina zone accounts for 1,294 (or 76%) of the variants of concern cases with confirmed lineage reported.

Current Public Health orders remain in effect until April 26, at which time they will be reviewed.

Residents are asked to avoid all unnecessary travel throughout the province at this time.

An additional 8,168 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered to 323,573.

Of those 8,168 doses there were 65 administered in the South West zone.

Fifty-eight per of Saskatchewan residents age 50+ have received their first dose.

The vaccination booking system is now open to ages 48+. Appointments can be made online or by telephone.

All drive-thru and walk-in COVID-19 vaccination clinics are now available to residents aged 48-54 with the exception of Regina, where COVID-19 vaccine drive-thru is available to residents aged 46-54. All drive - thru clinics are first come first serve.

Vaccine eligibility for non-SHA healthcare workers on the frontline in clinical areas is being expanded to include: Frontline staff in private physician offices who provide patient care, frontline staff in private digital imaging clinics, frontline staff in community labs, and frontline staff at the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency.

These healthcare workers will receive a letter of eligibility over the coming days, which will be required to register for vaccination. Appointments for this group must be made through the telephone booking system only.