The provincial government reported the highest single-day increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 Saturday afternoon, although the announcement did come with a caveat.

There were 439 new cases of COVID-19, but in the daily release, it was pointed out there was a fluctuation in the case numbers due to a number of factors including weather-related and logistical delays in getting test specimens to the Roy Romanow Provincial Laboratory. As a result, they will now be regularly reporting the seven day average of new cases and the number of new cases per 100,000. The seven-day average is 203, and the number of new cases per 100,000 people is 16.7.

In addition to the 439 new cases, 41 recoveries were also reported, bringing the number of active cases in Saskatchewan up to 2,537. 

The overwhelming majority of the new cases were reported in the Saskatoon and Regina regions, with 170 and 56 new cases respectively. The high number of new cases in Saskatoon wasn't unexpected, however. A report from the wastewater surveillance team at the University of Saskatchewan had stated they found an increase in COVID-19 traces in effluent wastewater collected in Saskatoon, which they stated was an indicator of a spike in numbers of positive tests.

The other new cases reported in the province included 56 in the North West region, 43 in the North Central region, 19 in the South East region, 18 in South Central, 14 in the South West, 13 in the Far North East and Central East, 11 in the North East, nine in the Far North West and eight in the Central West. Another nine cases have pending residence information.

The number of people in hospital receiving treatment for COVID-19 was also up. There are 93 people in the hospital, 72 of which are receiving inpatient treatment. Another 21 are in intensive care units across the province, utilizing just over a fifth of all ICU beds in Saskatchewan.

In the South East region, the majority of the new cases reported Saturday were located in South East 1, where there were 13 new cases, and now 104 active cases in total. Another five of the new cases were in South East 4, where there are 16 active cases. The one other case was in South East Zone 2, bringing the number of active cases in that area up to nine. No new cases were reported in South East 3 where there are nine active cases.

Another contributing factor to the number of new cases reported on Saturday was the number of tests being processed. There were 4,580 tests processed, a new record in Saskatchewan. 

After the news broke, Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe used social media to once again urge residents to follow the public health orders that are in place, and also reminded residents if the numbers continue to trend upwards more measures could be taken.