Mandatory masking policy introduced across Saskatchewan

The Saskatchewan government has initiated a series of enhanced COVID19 precautions in their latest attempt to slow infection numbers across the entire province.

A mandatory masking policy has been implemented for all indoor public places in Saskatchewan effective Thursday, November 19. This increases their previous precautions of mandatory masking in communities with populations over 5,000 instituted back on Friday, November 13.

The province has also again reinstated the restriction on visits to residents in long term care facilities and personal care homes.

“We understand that this is an extremely difficult measure for so many people - for our seniors and for their loved ones - especially as we enter this holiday time of year. But we also know there is one thing worse than not allowing visitors into our long term care centres, and that is allowing COVID into our long term care centres,” Premier Scott Moe said while unveiling the heightened precautionary measures during a media availability on Tuesday.

The new measure was added in response to Saskatchewan having recorded COVID-19 cases in over 20 long term care facilities or assisted living facilities since the start of the pandemic.

All precautionary measures are in effect until December 17 when these heightened precautions could be relaxed, but more stringent regulations could be imposed if totals continue to rise.

Moe highlighted that this one month slowdown is intended to help the province gain control over rising COVID numbers as opposed to issuing a full shutdown.

“We feel that we are at a stage here now where a slowdown will work. We may get to a lockdown in the days ahead. Manitoba got there when they were at 500 cases a day where they made that decision. We’ve had a couple of days of 200 cases, and we feel that we have some time,” Moe said. “We’re two maybe three weeks behind where Manitoba was, so we do have some time here.”