Mayor pleased with latest round of restrictions

Mayor Michael Fougere said new measures passed by the provincial government to fight the spread of COVID -19 are what the City of Regina had been hoping to see after the province rescinded the city’s earlier declaration of a local state of emergency.

On Wednesday, the province announced 14 new cases of COVID -19 in Saskatchewan, bringing the provincial total to 86.

The province also announced that, effective Thursday, all public and private gatherings are limited to a maximum of 10 people. It also released a full list of essential services, and said all “non-allowable” business services cannot provide “public-facing services.”

“This is something the City of Regina had been hoping for for quite some time and we’re very pleased … This is a major step forward in locking down services,” Fougere told reporters on Wednesday.

The city’s rescinded order had limited gatherings to five or fewer people and called for the closure of some retail businesses.

“This is a strong and tangible way for us to demonstrate that we are reducing the possibility of the spread of this virus, and that’s what this is all about.”

Four of Saskatchewan’s COVID-19 cases are now confirmed community transmission cases, with one of these in Regina. Fougere called community transmission a “different concern” than the city has seen so far, and expects Regina’s number of cases to keep rising. While that spike hasn’t been dramatic yet, he is “very happy” the province is taking action before it hits that point.

The City of Regina announced Tuesday it was also closing down any city-run park spaces, including 165 playgrounds and dog parks.

The city is putting up signs and tape to block off these facilities, but police and bylaw enforcement officers will not be enforcing the closures. Instead, Fougere asked that people “use their common sense” and avoid them.

“These are places that a lot of hands get … on there, and that’s where we have contamination. That’s where we have a problem, so we’re looking for people to do the right thing and just stay away from those,” he said.

Regina Public and Catholic school divisions have also urged people to stay off school playgrounds.

To help out all the children who would normally be receiving lunches through school meal programs, the City of Regina has teamed up with Regina Education and Action on Child Hunger (REACH) to give out an estimated 1,000 bagged lunches each day.

The lunches are put together with the help of Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) kitchen staff, and are then distributed from various community centres to those in need. Any leftover food is donated to the Street Culture Project’s youth shelter.

CITY WEIGHS LAYOFFS

The City of Saskatoon announced Tuesday it was laying off 126 casual staff members because of COVID -19, including lifeguards, cashiers, activity leaders and recreational employees.

Chris Holden, Regina’s city manager, said the city is currently looking at its “casual staff requirements.” Right now the city has seasonal staff for winter maintenance and typically looks at layoffs around this time of year, while also looking at “casual recall” to hire people for park maintenance. He said the city will make an announcement later this week about any layoffs due to COVID -19.

“It’s an issue that we’re doing with compassion and understanding given the incredible circumstances we face,” said Fougere.