Unpaid sick leave bill passed as COVID-19 tally hits eight
More cases expected as Sask. snowbirds return home from American sun spots
MLAS unanimously passed a sick leave bill in a matter of minutes on Tuesday, the same day the province announced an eighth presumptive case of COVID -19, which has radically recast life in Saskatchewan.
The province’s new law, which is in effect retroactively to March 6, extends leave to all workers during a declared public health emergency, no matter how long they’ve been in their job. It also removes a requirement to provide a sick note.
“These two amendments ensure that all employees can take sick leave and know that they have a job to come back to,” said Don Morgan, minister of labour relations and workplace safety.
The law creates a new “public health emergency leave,” which would come into effect following an order of the chief medical health officer.
During a declared public health crisis, workers would become eligible for leave when directed to isolate themselves by their employer, a doctor, the government, or the chief medical health officer. The same leave would be available for those who need to stay home to care for someone affected by a public health order.
But the leave is unpaid, falling short of what organized labour has called for as more and more workers miss out on paycheques due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Morgan said no other province has required paid leave, and argued it would have been “incredibly complex” to do so.
“A lot of workers will have paid sick time or will get our compensation from employment insurance,” he noted.
His announcement came moments before Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, announced that a patient in their 50s has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the eighth presumed case in the province.
They were tested in Regina following travel to the same Vancouver dental conference already connected to another Saskatchewan case. The new patient is currently self-isolating at home.
So far, the province is reporting one positive case tested in northern Saskatchewan, two from the Saskatoon area and three from the south, including Regina. Only one person is hospitalized, due to issues unrelated to COVID-19.
“Apart from the one person who’s hospitalized, all the rest of the cases are actually doing well and we expect them to make a full recovery,” said Shahab.
There have now been 880 tests ordered in the province. Shahab said there have been no broad moves to expand testing beyond travellers, patients at health facilities and contacts of confirmed cases, though he said doctors can apply their “clinical discretion” to make referrals.
The province is still struggling with dropped calls and long waits on its 811 Healthline.
Derek Miller, the emergency operations centre lead with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, said staffing has been more than doubled for 811, which is transitioning to a new phone system that will “eliminate the possibility of dropped calls.”
He said it’s a priority and will be up and running “as soon as possible.”
Premier Scott Moe said he’s not “actively” considering declaring a state of emergency in Saskatchewan, as other provinces have done. But that could change.
“It’s fair to say that virtually everything is under consideration as we move through these unchartered waters,” he said.
Shahab expects to see more travellers returning to Canada in the coming days, including snowbirds from the United States.
He worries about hot-spots south of the border where there is sustained spread within communities.
“We certainly expect more travel related cases over the next week or two,” said Shahab. “We hope we don’t see non-travel related cases, but I would not be surprised if we do.”
He said he’s encouraged that many travellers are self-isolating and reiterated the importance of doing so.
The province has a little more than 100 ICU beds to deal with a surge at hospitals, if and when severe cases begin striking the province.
It also has 91 adult ventilators for critical care.
Susan Shaw, the SHA’S chief medical officer, said the health system is able to “quickly mobilize and shift” to deal with sudden surges.