Sask. reports first cases of EG.5, the latest Omicron subvariant
Saskatchewan says 2,004 people have died of COVID-19 since March 2020. (Germain Wilson/CBC)The newest COVID-19 Omicron subvariant is now circulating in Saskatchewan, according to the provincial government. Twenty-one clinical specimens have tested positive for the EG.5 variant, according to the latest Community Respiratory Illness Surveillance Program (CRISP) report which was released on Thursday. EG.5 is a descendant variant of the most commonly detected Omicron variant, XBB.1.9.2, according to the province. Experts have previously told CBC there is little evidence that the EG.5 variant causes more severe illness — even if it appears to be more infectious and is able to sneak past people's immune defences.It also unclear whether the subvariant causes any unfamiliar symptoms that haven't already been documented in Omicron offshoots. According to Health Canada, symptoms during the Omicron wave include: a runny nose, sneezing, a sore throat, headaches, persistent coughing, joint pain, c
The newest COVID-19 Omicron subvariant is now circulating in Saskatchewan, according to the provincial government.
Twenty-one clinical specimens have tested positive for the EG.5 variant, according to the latest Community Respiratory Illness Surveillance Program (CRISP) report which was released on Thursday.
EG.5 is a descendant variant of the most commonly detected Omicron variant, XBB.1.9.2, according to the province.
Experts have previously told CBC there is little evidence that the EG.5 variant causes more severe illness — even if it appears to be more infectious and is able to sneak past people's immune defences.
It also unclear whether the subvariant causes any unfamiliar symptoms that haven't already been documented in Omicron offshoots.
According to Health Canada, symptoms during the Omicron wave include: a runny nose, sneezing, a sore throat, headaches, persistent coughing, joint pain, chills or fevers, muscle pain, an altered sense of smell or gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, diarrhea and abdominal pain.
The EG.5 variant has been spreading throughout the country since at least May, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
The report indicates that the provincial government will provide new, publicly-funded, monovalent COVID-19 vaccines, which can offer protection against the circulating subvariants. The province said this will happen in the fall, but noted the plan is contingent on Health Canada approving the vaccines.
Death toll reaches 2,004
Along with the presence of the new variant in Saskatchewan, data in the CRISP report says 2,004 people have died from COVID-19 in the province since the pandemic began in March 2020.
That's four more deaths than were reported in last month's CRISP report. However, the provincial government said only two COVID-19 deaths were recorded between July 16 and August 12, 2023.
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That means the two other COVID-19 deaths occurred before July 16, 2023, but they were not previously reported as COIVD-19 related. The two people who died in the past month were both aged 60 or older.
According to the province, there were 53 people hospitalized with COVID-19 between July 16-29, 2023. In the last two weeks, that number decreased to 27.
ICU admissions have also decreased. There were ten people in the ICU because of COVID-19 during the last reporting period. That number fell to seven between July 16 and August 12, 2023.
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