Saskatchewan set to begin easing back to normality on May 4

REGINA — Saskatchewan will begin inching back toward some semblance of normal life on May 4, the first day of the government’s “middle path” for salvaging the economy without stoking a surge of COVID-19 infections.

On that date, medical services like dentists, chiropractors and optometrists will be allowed to resume, as will boat launches and fishing, according to the Re-open Saskatchewan plan released Thursday.

The plan, which could be adjusted depending on the course of COVID-19 in the weeks ahead, will then follow a plodding pace for two weeks. Only golf courses would be added to the list before the May long weekend.

But May 19 is slated to bring a wave of retail activity back to Saskatchewan, as purveyors of clothing, books, electronics and much more are allowed to reopen. That would also be the day residents can get their first professional haircut since mid-march.

Other businesses and services will have to wait, with no word on how long. The dates for bars, restaurants, gyms, theatres, casinos, bingo halls and swimming pools are marked “to be determined.”

The same goes for daycares, which will be allowed to increase per-room capacity from seven to 15 children at a still-uncertain date.

Schools could be among the last to reopen. Moe said classes won’t be back in session in the coming weeks, and even the fate of the 2020-21 school year will hinge on the future course of the disease.

“That will yet be a decision to be made,” Moe said.

Restrictions on travellers, long-term care homes and large gatherings will also stay in place until the very last phase of the plan.