The number of active COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan dropped by five Thursday.

In a media release, the provincial government announced there were 160 active cases in Saskatchewan. Active cases are the total number of cases minus the number of recoveries and the number of deaths.

There were seven new confirmed cases Thursday, increasing that total to 278. Twelve more people were declared recovered, however, moving that total to 115. There have been three deaths to date in Saskatchewan.

The government said there are 95 active cases in Saskatoon, 26 in Regina, 22 in the northern region of the province, 11 in the south and three each in the central area and far north.

Eight people are in hospital in Saskatchewan, the same number as was reported Wednesday. Six people — four in Saskatoon and two in Regina — are receiving inpatient care and one person is in intensive care in each of Regina and Saskatoon.

Of the 115 recoveries, 42 are from Saskatoon, 32 are from Regina, 29 reside in the north, six live in the central area, four are from the south and two are from the far north.

One person has died in each of the north, central and Saskatoon areas.

“We are flattening the curve here in Saskatchewan and that is due not only to the restrictions being in place but it is due to people — the good people of Saskatchewan — adhering to those restrictions in community after community,” Premier Scott Moe said during a conference call, referring to things such as the limits on the size of gatherings and to residents staying at home.

Of the 278 cases, 122 cases are travellers, 96 are community contacts (including mass gatherings) and 20 don’t have any known exposures. There are 40 cases under investigation by local public health officials.

The number of community contacts increased by six from Wednesday’s update, while the number of cases with unknown contacts increased by four.

Saskatoon continues to have the most cases with 138, followed by Regina (58), the north (52), the south (15), the central region (10) and the far north (five).

A total of 27 cases are health-care workers, but the government stressed again that they may have contracted the virus in a setting outside the health-care sector.

Six of the new cases are in the 20-to-44 age range, which now has 120 cases. The other new positive result was in the 45-to-64 age range, increasing that total to 95.

There also are 48 cases aged 65 and over and 15 cases aged 19 and under.

The province set a new single-day high with 1,051 tests, bringing the total to date to 16,672.

That single-day total surpassed a goal Moe set Wednesday, when he said he was asking the Saskatchewan Health Authority to do more than 1,000 tests per day.

“We will continue to ramp up testing and contact tracing with a target of processing over 1,500 tests per day by the end of this month,” he said Thursday.

“High levels of testing and contact tracing are key to reducing the spread both now and in the weeks ahead when we begin to lift restrictions and reopen businesses and services in communities across Saskatchewan.”

Saskatoon has had more than 6,800 tests done, followed by Regina with more than 4,300 and the north with more than 2,350.

Emergency measures?

Moe was asked about a report suggesting the federal government was pondering invoking the Emergencies Act, which would give the feds significant powers they could use in the fight against COVID-19.

Moe said he and other premiers have had discussions with the federal government about that move, primarily to say they don’t believe invoking the act is necessary at this point.

“We have provincial acts in place here in Saskatchewan and in many provinces — virtually all provinces and territories — and we don’t see that the federal Emergencies Act would do anything that the provinces aren’t already doing and collaborating closely on,” Moe said.