■ SHAHAB WARNINGS
Saskatchewan continued to release guidelines for activities stopped by the pandemic to resume Thursday, even as three communities received warnings about COVID-19 cases.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) restricted visitors to Victoria Hospital and long-term care homes in Prince Albert as a result of six cases in the area.
Residents of Lloydminster were also alerted by the SHA to someone who tested positive and visited Wal-mart, Superstore, Goodknight Inn and the Superlodge Motel between June 27 and Sunday when the person was likely infectious.
The health authority issued another alert Thursday advising that a worker at the Stonebridge location of the Great Canadian Brewhouse in Saskatoon had tested positive. Anyone who visited the establishment between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. on July 1, 4:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. on July 2 and from 5 p.m. July 3 to 1 a.m. on July 4 was advised to self-monitor for symptoms.
The province’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, told a briefing Thursday that business owners named as possible locations of pandemic cases should not feel stigmatized.
“COVID is nobody’s fault and it will happen to many of us as we’re out and about,” Shahab told reporters. “We all need to respect the fact that just because a business (is featured in a pandemic-related) public service announcement doesn’t mean that that business is unsafe.”
Shahab said the six recent cases in the Prince Albert area have generated more than 100 contacts. He suggested later that the diagnosed people had been hospitalized.
The provincial government announced a slate of activities that can resume next Thursday as part of its ongoing reopening plan. These include rodeos, racing, banquet and conference facilities, temporary food vendors, car shows and trade shows.
The province also announced that, despite the return of live performances at bars and restaurants next Thursday, karaoke and dance floors remain forbidden.
Saskatchewan added five new COVID-19 cases Thursday, the highest daily total in a week, to increase the total case count to 813. Four more recoveries meant active cases stayed relatively stable at 48.
Active cases in the far north region dropped to 25, the lowest since 22 were recorded on June 16. The other active cases were spread out among four regions: eight in the north, seven in the south, six in Saskatoon and two in central Saskatchewan.
Visits to the Victoria Hospital in Prince Albert, as well as long-term care homes, will only be allowed for compassionate reasons, like someone facing major surgery or a terminal illness. The restrictions will continue until the SHA lifts them.
The SHA alerted those living in and visiting Prince Albert to the cases.
Shahab said as more businesses reopen and activities resume, more contact is inevitable and contract tracing becomes “really challenging.”
Although Saskatchewan trails the national per capita testing rate, 882 tests were recorded on Thursday, one of the highest single-day totals since testing for the coronavirus began in March. There have been 71,747 tests in the province.
Shahab urged people to get used to maintaining social distance, to limit their contacts and to carry protective masks with them.
Casinos and bingo halls were allowed to open Thursday with guidelines to ensure social distancing.
Racing events, which include both automobile and horse racing, and rodeos are subject to a 150-person limit on spectators, provided there is enough room for two metres of distance between those from different households.
The 150-person limit does not include staff, volunteers, participants and contestants. Indoor events are allowed, but must adhere to current limits of 30 unless stadium seating will allow for sufficient spacing for 150.
Similar guidelines apply to car shows and trade shows, which will allow up to 150 people indoor or outdoor provided there is sufficient space for distancing.
The gathering limit for banquets and conference facilities has not been expanded beyond the current limit for indoor gatherings of 30. As with bars and restaurants, karaoke and dance floors are not allowed.
The current edition of Saskatchewan’s reopening plan, which is now 137 pages long, does not include any resumptions beyond Thursday under Phase 4.
Phase 5 remains unscheduled, but includes the lifting of restrictions and increasing the size of gatherings.
“It is really important for all of us, business owners but also all of us living in Saskatchewan, to read those guidelines, be familiar with those guidelines,” Shahab said.