The daily update from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health shows six new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the province bringing the total to 72.

60 percent of the cases are in men and of the 72 confirmed cases, 59 are between the ages of 20-64 with 11 in people aged 65 and older and two aged 19 or under.

5,757 tests have been performed at the provincial lab.

More details will come from Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer Tuesday afternoon when Dr. Saqib Shahab holds his daily briefing.

It is expected Shahab will also be discussing a document which says the spread of COVID-19 could exceed the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s capacity for acute services and amount to a death toll in the thousands.

A fatality rate of between three to five per cent, or between 9,000 and 15,000 people, is expected, it reads.

The presentation underscores that “time is of the essence” and “preparations must begin immediately,” with more accurate modelling to come.