COVID-19: Sask. extends restrictions to Jan. 29 as province hits 204 deaths

Article content

Saskatchewan will not see any changes to its current public health measures until at least the end of the month after days of high case numbers and a mounting death toll.

On Tuesday, the provincial government announced the restrictions introduced Dec. 17 will remain in place until Jan. 29 because of “current COVID-19 transmission rates,” according to a news release. The restrictions will then once again be reviewed by the province’s chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser.

COVID-19: Sask. extends restrictions to Jan. 29 as province hits 204 deaths Back to video

“The next three months, I think for us in Saskatchewan, are our most critical three months yet because our hospitalization and ICU admissions are peaking,” Shahab told reporters during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

This means private, indoor gatherings remain limited to immediate household members only. A maximum of 10 people can get together outside as long as physical distancing between households can be maintained.

Article content continued

Existing orders for licensed establishments, sports, fitness and dance, places of worship and mandatory masking are also staying in place. All non-essential interprovincial travel remains discouraged.

After the news conference, Shahab was escorted from the Legislative Building to his car by security as a small group of anti-mask protesters followed him from the door. Jim Billington, Moe’s executive director of communications, told the Leader-Post in a statement this was a precautionary measure and not in response to any specific threat.

“It was anticipated they might attempt to harass him,” Billington said.

Tuesday’s announcement came as Saskatchewan reported 248 new cases of COVID-19 and five more deaths Tuesday, bringing the province’s death toll to 204. The seven-day average of daily new cases also hit a record high of 321 — or 26.5 new cases per 100,000 population — after five consecutive days of case numbers above 300 preceded Tuesday.

Despite the high numbers, Premier Scott Moe defended the decision to maintain current health measures without implementing more, but he didn’t close the door on stricter measures coming in the future.

“To further the restrictions and measures that we have in place today, which are significant, there’s consequences to that as well,” Moe said, pointing to the negative impacts on mental health and youth recreational opportunities further restrictions would likely have.

Article content continued

“If we’re not able to start to bend this trajectory downward by the end of January, Dr. Shahab may have some more difficult decisions to make,” he said.

Both Moe and Shahab said current measures were successful in bringing down case numbers before the holiday season arrived. Shahab is hopeful they will once again result in falling case numbers, so long as people adhere to them.

“We need universal compliance to see if this can turn around,” he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, NDP Opposition Leader Ryan Meili said it would be “really unwise” for the province to simply renew its restrictions with no changes.

“It’s clear that the current restrictions aren’t successful. Continuing to do something that isn’t working means more people will get sick and more people will die,” Meili told reporters.

He did not give any clear indication of the restrictions he would like to see, instead voicing frustration about the lack of transparency around how the province is making decisions on measures. He called for clearly stated thresholds for when restrictions will be tightened or loosened and for regular public updates with the two-week modelling projections.

Of the new deaths, two were people in their 80s from Regina, two were in their 70s from the Far North West and North West zones and one was in their 30s from the South West zone.

A total of 191 people are currently in hospital with COVID-19, with 29 in intensive care. This is down slightly from Monday’s record high of 197 people in hospital.

Article content continued

Vaccine delivery is also continuing, with 903 doses being administered on Monday, including 219 in Regina, 81 in Saskatoon, 210 in Prince Albert, 88 in the Far North West, 64 in the Far North Central, 122 in the Far North East and 119 in the North East zones.

A total of 9,880 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been given in the province to date out of the total 17,575 doses it has received.

Another 6,825 Pfizer doses were expected to arrive in Saskatoon on Tuesday and another 5,400 Moderna doses are expected in Saskatchewan on Jan. 14. These will be administered to priority long-term care and personal care homes, including some in the South East and Central East zones in communities like Wadena, Canora and Weyburn. Another 500 Moderna doses will also be sent to the Far North East zone.

More On This Topic

Mandryk: Gov't can't pick and choose public health policies to follow

Saskatchewan records eight deaths as daily cases soar past 400

Possible holiday 'super-spreader' event at Saskatoon karaoke bar

lgiesbrecht@postmedia.com

The news seems to be flying at us faster all the time. From COVID-19 updates to politics and crime and everything in between, it can be hard to keep up. With that in mind, the Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox to help make sure you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.