Emergency departments at Saskatoon's three hospitals are experiencing challenges due to the high number of admitted patients.
That's according to the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA).
"The admitted patient numbers are high for a variety of reasons," the SHA said in a statement sent in response to a CTV News inquiry.
"This includes the current number of both COVID and non-COVID patients requiring inpatient care," the SHA said.
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The increase is resulting in "longer than normal" wait times for those who need to be transferred to an inpatient unit.
The SHA said while no patients will be turned away from emergency departments, patients may be given information about alternate options for non-urgent issues such as seeing a family physician, calling 811 or heading to a walk-in clinic.
In its most recent weekly COVID-19 update, the Saskatchewan government reported there were 410 people in hospital with COVID-19 as of Feb. 16 — including 33 in intensive care.
That was up from a total of 384 the week prior.
