In the March 5 COVID-19 update from The Saskatchewan Health Authority they are reporting a total of 207 new cases of the virus in the province.

Of those 207 cases there are 23 in the Far North West zone, 2 in the Far North Central zone, 13 in the Far North East zone, 20 in the North West zone, 13 in the North Central zone, 8 in the North East zone, 45 in the Saskatoon zone, 18 in the Central East zone, and 43 in the Regina zone.

There are 2 new cases in the South West zone, 5 in the South Central zone, and 5 in the South East zone.

There are 10 cases with pending residence information.

Four cases with pending residence information were assigned to the North Central zone.

Five cases tested out of the province were Saskatchewan residents and added to the counts.

That brings the provincial total number of COVID-19 cases to 29,432, of which 1,507 are considered active.

There are 5 active cases in t he South West zone. All 5 cases are located in the South West subzone 1.

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 155 (12.7 new cases per 100,000 population).

Two Saskatchewan residents who tested positive for COVID-19 have died. One death was reported in the 60-69 age group from the Regina zone, and one death was reported in the 80+ age group from the Saskatoon zone.

That brings the provincial total number of deaths related to COVID-19 to 393.

There were 125 recoveries reported, bringing that provincial total to 27,532.

There are 138 people in hospital. One hundred and eighteen people are receiving inpatient care - 3 in the Far North West zone, 2 in the Far North East zone, 11 in the North West zone, 9 in the North Central zone, 3 in the North East zone, 52 in the Saskatoon zone, 1 in the Central West zone, 4 in the Central East zone, 31 in the Regina zone, and 2 in the South East zone.

There are 20 people in intensive care - 2 in the North Central zone, 9 in the Saskatoon zone, 1 in the Central East zone, and 8 in the Regina zone.

To date, there have been 589,109 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan.

And yesterday, there were 3,289 COVID-19 tests processed.

An additional 2,789 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 86,879.

Today, Health Canada has approved the use of the Johnson and Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 vaccine in Canada. The Johnson and Johnson (Janssen) vaccine is approved for people 18 years and over and requires only one dose. Recommended storage and transportation is from 2-8 degrees Celsius. Shipment dates and quantities are not yet available.

A shipment of AstraZeneca vaccine (15,500 doses) is expected late the week of March 8 and will be distributed among Regina, Saskatoon, North Battleford, Prince Albert, Moose Jaw, and Yorkton. Priority groups targeted for the AstraZeneca shipment are Phase One priority healthcare workers under 65 years and residents aged 60-64. Those aged 60-64 will be able to book their appointment for the AstraZeneca vaccine the week of March 15, with actual appointments starting the week of March 22. Details on the phone line to call for bookings will be released by the end of next week.

The Moderna vaccine shipment for the week of March 8 is now not expected until the week of March 15.