Health minister ‘disappointed’ after party in southwest linked to 21 COVID cases

Saskatchewan’s health minister said he’s disappointed people decided to disobey the public health orders, after a party in the southwest area of the province has been connected to at least 21 COVID-19 cases.

“It just goes to show that COVID is still in most communities; it’s out there. We’ve had very low numbers in the southwest part of the province in (the) Maple Creek-Swift Current area, and it takes one event like this to start up another superspreader event,” Health Minister Paul Merriman said Thursday.

On Wednesday, the Saskatchewan Health Authority warned about an increased risk of transmission in the southwest region of the province because of recent large outdoor gatherings.

The SHA said the risk was high in areas around Rosetown, Kindersley, Maple Creek, Swift Current, Davidson and Moose Jaw. On Thursday, the authority added Outlook to the list.

The only outbreak listed on the government’s website as of Thursday evening that was in the southwest and was not a workplace was a “recreational party in the community” in Maple Creek. That outbreak was declared on Wednesday.

The latest numbers from the health authority on Thursday said there were 21 cases connected to that event.

“I know people are somewhat tired of hearing it, but this is why we need to make sure that we’re adhering to (the public health orders). Otherwise we could have one event in one community in southwest Saskatchewan that could become a superspreader event,” said Merriman.

Merriman didn’t have any details on what kind of an event it was, just that it was outside, the number of people in attendance was way over the public health order limit, and there was “minimal adherence” to the health guidelines.

Merriman said the province is trying to get ahead of the virus and events like this threaten to pull Saskatchewan back.

A request to interview Mayor Michelle McKenzie was made to the Town of Maple Creek. Instead, a generic video message was posted to the town’s Facebook page late Thursday afternoon.

“Because the confirmed positive cases in Maple Creek are all the result of one non-household mass gathering event, Maple Creek has been publicly posted as having an outbreak of COVID-19 that poses a risk to the general public,” McKenzie said in the message.

“However, the Town of Maple Creek as a whole has not been declared as an active outbreak, and this is important to note.”

McKenzie said because of that, it was important for everyone in the area to be diligent and to follow current public health measures.

“(On Wednesday), we delivered information door to door in regarding variants of concern that had been identified within communities in the southwest, including Maple Creek,” she said.

McKenzie said the town would continue to update residents throughout “this difficult time.”

— With files from 650 CKOM’s Lara Fominoff