Premier Moe says mandatory mask policy possible as province reports 31 new cases of COVID-19, 13 more recoveries

The Saskatchewan government announced 31 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, as the virus continues to spread through Hutterite colonies across the province.

Of those new cases, 22 are from Hutterite communities in the south, central and northern regions of Saskatchewan.

Rural and Remote Health Minister Warren Kaeding said the Hutterite communities have implemented forms of travel restrictions to stop the spread of the virus.

Kaeding also said members in the communities are taking self-isolation very seriously.

“I had two or three colonies indicate that, honestly, they are feeding mom by sliding food under the door,” Kaeding said. “A lot of curbside pickup or curbside drop off when it comes to parts or supplying pharmaceuticals to the local drug store or even groceries if they have to go in and get supplies.”

Premier Scott Moe said the colonies have come up with creative ways to help provide physical distancing during meal times and church services.

“We need to ensure that it is occurring in every community, whether it’s a Hutterite community or not,” Moe said.

Kaeding says many of the Hutterite communities who usually participate in farmers’ markets have voluntarily pulled out of them.

“A number of communities have also cancelled their farmers’ markets just understanding the risks associated with them if they couldn’t take all the appropriate measures to protect all their customers at this time,” Kaeding said.

Moe said people shouldn’t assume a Hutterite who is at a farmers’ market or in the city is coming from a community with active cases.

“The majority of our communities do not (have an active case),” Moe said. “All communities that do have a case have put in very stringent measures. In no way shape or form should we stigmatize or assume the unknown when it comes to our daily interactions,” Moe said.

Moe said at this point, the government isn’t going it implement a mandatory mask policy at this point.

“This is a conversation that is escalating and I see it escalating in the province as well. We are asking individuals if they feel that they are more comfortable wearing a mask that they wear a mask but if they are unable to physically distance in a room, they should wear a mask,” Moe said. “There may come a point in time, either on a regional basis or even province-wide, where we will have to go to wearing masks as mandatory measure.

“I would far sooner have that conversation than shutting down sectors of our economy.”

The province will also announce the plan when it comes to reopening schools sometime next week.

“This is an attempt and effort to ensure we can get back to some degree or normalcy,” Moe said.

Moe said the school divisions have worked on plans for a return to the classroom in the fall and it is now being looked at by the Education Response Team.

“First and foremost we want to have a safe plan for our children’s return to the classroom and for the staff,” Moe said. “We are ensuring that this plan will have mechanisms in place that will be able to respond to any future public health concerns that may be identified by Dr. (Saqib) Shahab or the communities.”

Shahab, the province’s top doctor, said that the reopening of schools doesn’t present a higher risk than opening other parts of the economy.

“If all of this had been happening in the fall or the spring, the reopening of schools would have been earlier,” Shahab said. “Once schools open, public health will continue to work closely with schools.”

Shahab said they have learned from places that have already opened schools and while there is transmission in the community, it is not necessarily linked to schools.

Geographically, 10 of the new cases were in the central region, nine were in the south, eight were in Saskatoon and three were in the north. The location is still being determined for one of the cases.

The release on Monday also announced 13 new recoveries, while 14 people are in hospital — four of which are in intensive care.

Saskatchewan has now tallied 1,209 total cases of COVID-19, with 307 active cases. Of the total cases, 886 people have recovered and 16 deaths have been reported since the beginning of the pandemic.