For the first time in more than two weeks, Saskatchewan has reported double digits in new COVID-19 cases.

The provincial government announced Friday that there were 10 new cases in the province, raising the total to date to 341. All but one of those cases had been confirmed.

It’s the first time since April 8 that Saskatchewan has reached double digits in new cases. It announced 11 cases that day.

Saskatchewan has reported 25 cases over the past four days; it had reported 26 over the previous nine days combined.

“Even if you see an increase in cases but you can link them to an identified case contact cluster investigation, that is reassuring,” Dr. Saqib Shahab, the province’s chief medical health officer, said during a conference call with the media.

“Having said that, we do continue to see occasional cases which have no links to any case or contact — and we see that throughout Saskatchewan — and we want to make sure that that number remains as low as possible. The only way that number can remain low is by doing what all of us have been doing.”

That includes staying home, practising physical distancing, hand-washing regularly and performing the other measures Shahab and others have been preaching during the pandemic.

Ten more people had been declared recovered as of Friday, moving the provincial total to date to 280. Four people have died to date in Saskatchewan.

There now are 57 active cases in the province. That includes 25 in the far north — the highest total of any region in Saskatchewan.

The number of cases in the far north has increased from 11 on Monday to 28 on Friday. The government announced Friday it was taking measures to address that spike.

There are five people in hospitals in Saskatchewan. Three people — one in Regina, one in Saskatoon and one in the north — are receiving inpatient care. Two people are in intensive care in Saskatoon.

Asked to what numbers health officials pay the most attention, Shahab pointed to deaths, recoveries and hospitalizations. Of the total number of cases, only about 20 have required stays in hospital so far.

“That’s another number that we watch closely,” he said, “because if that number increases, that shows what happened two or three weeks ago.”

The 341 cases includes 145 who are contacts or have been linked to mass gatherings, 136 are travellers, 34 don’t have any known exposures, and 26 are under investigation by local public health officials.

The number of health-care workers who have been infected to date remained steady at 36.

In addition to the 28 total cases in the far north, 150 of the province’s cases are from the Saskatoon area, 73 are from the Regina area, 64 live in the north, 15 live in the south and 11 are from the central region.

In terms of ages, 121 cases are in the 20-to-39 range, 117 are between the ages of 40 and 59, 66 are between 60 and 79 years of age, 26 are aged 19 or under, and 11 are in the 80-and-over range.

The numbers released Friday came one day after the province revealed its Re-Open Saskatchewan plan, a strategy to get businesses and services that previously were closed due to COVID-19 up and running again.

Even if that happens, Shahab said residents have to stay the course.

“On a day-to-day basis, nothing much should change,” he said. “You should still behave exactly as you behaved yesterday and we all need to be conscious of that.”

The 26,586 COVID-19 tests performed in the province to date include 714 on Thursday.

Appearing on Gormley on Friday, Premier Scott Moe said there’s a simple reason for the lower testing numbers noted of late: Fewer people with symptoms are showing up to be tested.

“That is a positive,” he said. “(The number of tests) may cycle up and cycle down a little bit (and) get back to where we were maybe a week or two ago with the number of tests. We expect that to happen.”

Asked if mass testing of people without symptoms was possible, Moe said the province is not at that point with the testing technology it has. That may be possible in the future, however.

He also noted that the province can reach his stated goal of 1,500 tests per day and has the capability to do the accompanying contact tracing if required.

“We can go beyond 1,500 tests, not only with the capacity we have at the lab but also with the capacity we have now with some of the rapid testing machines that we are placing into communities,” Moe said, “and in particular, some of our northern and more remote communities where the turnaround time on getting the results of those tests was just a little longer than we liked.”

NDP leader wants answers

Opposition Leader Ryan Meili said Friday he wants the legislature recalled to ensure democratic oversight of the government’s handling of the pandemic.

He also has raised questions about the government’s Re-Open Saskatchewan plan, including the readiness of the health-care system, plans for child care for people who are to return to work, the supports available for businesses, and the guidelines for families to visit while maintaining their distance.

“We have good reason to be optimistic, given how well Saskatchewan people have managed the restrictions that were asked of them,” Meili said in a media release. “But the pandemic is not over.

“The questions we’re asking about the province’s plan need serious answers if we’re to avoid serious problems in our handling of this pandemic. It is time for the Premier to face the legislature and start answering these questions.”

Asked during Friday’s conference call about the plan for daycare, Moe said there is some capacity in the system now that could take in children as parents return to work. He noted the government is looking at what opportunities may be available to expand that capacity.

Restrictions remain in place

The government reminded residents that despite the release of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan Thursday, gatherings remain limited to a maximum of 10 people.

However, the government’s media release noted that “one or two close families may form an extended household group.”

“If you do want to meet between households or between friends, it’s important to understand: Try to maintain as small a group as possible,” Shahab said. “Take one or two friends or one or two families and meet consistently among each other.

“Make sure you don’t meet if you are unwell. If you have individuals in those families who are elderly or have underlying risk factors, be aware of that and maintain social distancing or physical distancing when you’re meeting as much as practical even in those settings.”