In the April 29 COVID-19 update from The Saskatchewan Health Authority there are a total of 205 new cases of the virus reported in the province.

Of those 205 new cases there are 16 in the Far North West zone, 1 in the Far North East zone, 11 in the North West zone, 4 in the North Central zone, 3 in the North East zone, 32 in the Saskatoon zone, 2 in the Central West zone, 11 in the Central East zone, and 73 in the Regina zone.

There are 9 new cases in the South West zone (6 in the South West subzone 1, and 3 in the South West subzone 2), 13 in the South Central zone, and 24 in the South East zone.

There are 6 new cases with pending residence information.

Six cases with pending residence information have been assigned as follows - 1 to the North Central zone, 3 to the Regina zone, and 2 to the South Central zone.

That brings the provincial total number of cases to 40,824, of which 2,408 are considered active.

There are currently 91 active cases in the South West zone - 55 in the South West subzone 1, and 36 in the South West subzone 2.

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases is 239 (19.5 new cases per 100,000 population).

There is 1 new death reported - in the 80+ age group from the North West zone.

That brings the provincial total number of deaths to 487.

There were 244 recoveries reported, bringing that provincial total to 37,929.

There are 186 people in the hospital. One hundred and forty-eight people are receiving inpatient care - 1 in the Far North East zone, 6 in the North West zone, 7 in the North Central zone, 58 in the Saskatoon zone, 7 in the Central East zone, and 56 in the Regina zone.

There is 1 person receiving inpatient care in the South West zone, 3 in the South Central zone, and 9 in the South East zone.

There are 38 people in intensive care - 1 in the North West zone, 2 in the North Central zone, 10 in the Saskatoon zone, 2 in the Central East zone, 22 in the Regina zone, and 1 in the South Central zone.

To date, there have been 765,871 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan.

And yesterday, there were 3,306 COVID-19 tests processed.

As of April 28, there were a total of 6,572 variants of concern identified by screening in the province - 96 in the Far North West zone, 3 in the Far North East zone, 185 in the North West zone, 104 in the North Central zone, 14 in the North East zone, 730 in the Saskatoon zone, 81 in the Central West zone, 290 in the Central East zone, and 3,632 in the Regina zone.

There were a total of 178 variants of concern cases in the South West zone, 496 in the South Central zone, and 682 in the South East zone.

There are 81 screened variants of concern cases with residences pending.

There are 87 new lineage results reported.

Of the 2,362 variants of concern with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 2,362 are B.1.1.1.7 (UK), 21 are P.1 (Brazilian), and 9 are B.1.351(SA).

The Regina zone accounts for 1,607 (or 67%) of the variants of concern cases with confirmed lineage reported in the province.

The Weekly Monitoring Report for Children and Youth age 0-19 years has been announced for the week of April 19-25. There are 785 active cases in children and youth in the province, 7 of which have unknown location.

Breaking that number down - there are 34 in the Far North West zone, 7 in the Far North East zone, 58 in the North West zone,49 in the North Central zone, 13 in the North East zone, 16 in the Central West zone,40 in the Central East zone, 132 in the Saskatoon zone, and 267 in the Regina zone.

There are 42 active cases in children and youth in the South West zone (30 in the South West subzone 1, and 12 in the South West subzone 2), 41 in the South Central zone, and 79 in the South East zone.

Schools in the South West zone reporting  case counts for the week of April 13-26, include 1 at Sidney School in Maple Creek, 2 at the Swift Current Comprehensive High School, 1 at the Eastend School ,  1 at the Maple Creek Composite School, and 1 at All Saints Catholic School in Swift Current.

An additional 6,218 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in the province, bringing the total number of vaccines administered to 421,981.

Of those 6,218 vaccine doses there were 190 administered in the South West zone.

Over 80% of residents over 60 years of age have received their first dose of vaccine.

Sixty percent of those 40+ have received their first dose.

Forty percent of those 18+ have received their first dose.

This week's shipment of Pfizer vaccine (31,590 doses) has arrived in Saskatchewan and is being distributed in the North West, North Central, Saskatoon, Central East and Regina zones, as well as to select pharmacies participating in the Pharmacy Vaccination Pilot Project.

This week's shipment of Moderna vaccine (18,800 doses) is expected to arrive today.

Effective at 8 a.m. Friday April 30, vaccine eligibility moves to age 40, except for the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District, where it remains age 30 and older. This applies to all immunization clinics, booked appointments, drive-thru/walk-in, pharmacies and mobile clinics.