Saskatchewan limits household gatherings over COVID-19 rise
REGINA
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe on Tuesday rejected calls for a temporary shutdown of non-essential businesses but restricted the number of people allowed to gather inside a home to stem the rise in COVID-19 cases.
Effective Thursday, no more than five people will be allowed to gather at a home, down from the previous limit of 10.
Moe also announced a handful of other new public-health measures
Visits to long-term and personal care homes will only be allowed on compassionate grounds and masks will be mandatory in indoor public spaces across the province.
It has been mandatory to wear a mask in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert for almost two weeks. On Monday, face coverings also became a requirement in communities with over 5,000 residents.
Moe said the Saskatchewan Party government heard that the mask mandate excluding rural areas was confusing, so it was changed.
The premier said the goal of the added measures is to “bend that curve” of COVID-19 to avoid another shutdown of businesses and activities like the one in the spring.
“We may get to a lockdown in the days ahead,” he told a news briefing in Regina.
“Manitoba got there when they were at 500 cases a day, where they made that decision. We’re up now where we’ve had a couple of days of 200 cases (per day) and we feel that we have some time ... we do have some time here to slow down.”
On Tuesday, the province reported 240 new infections and a rise in hospital admissions to 71, with 15 people in intensive care.
Chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, said nothing is off the table in terms of possible public-health measures.
The province is disallowing party buses and says it’s reviewing operational guidelines for worship services, recreational activities and the hospitality sector.
Moe rejected a call from the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses and hundreds of doctors to shut down nonessential businesses, such as bingo halls, bars, nightclubs and gyms, for at least two weeks to allow staff a chance to catch up on contact tracing and testing, as well as to provide a break to intensive care units.
The premier said a second mass closure of businesses would amount to thousands more jobs lost.
“The consequences of a lockdown are real. The 15,000 people that are not back at work yet from our first lockdown — I would say that the consequences for those individuals and their families is very real.”
An economic shutdown would also take a toll on people’s mental health, he said.
Gatherings outside of a household are being discouraged and Moe said workplaces should try to have employees work from home if possible.
Health officials have said intensive care units in Saskatoon are running at 130 per cent capacity and some out-oftown patients have been diverted to units in different cities.
Besides adding pressure on hospitals, the virus has spread into longterm care homes, which has drawn concerns from doctors and the Opposition NDP.
The province has reported cases in at least eight personal care and assisted living facilities, as well as in three group homes. There are also 19 schools with confirmed cases.