Masks to stay on in Saskatchewan for at least 8 weeks

It will still be a while yet before Saskatchewan people aren’t required to wear a face mask in public anymore.

On Thursday, the Centres for Disease Control in the U.S. announced that people who’d been fully vaccinated could shed their mask in most public places.

Premier Scott Moe commended the U.S. on the news, saying it was a great day for them.

“Our province isn’t quite there yet, but we’re over a half a million vaccines that have been offered and taken by Saskatchewan residents and we’re going to be there in the not-too-distant future – that’s the goal, that’s the target, and that is why we had come forward with the re-opening roadmap that we did,” said Moe.

The premier said he’d want people in Saskatchewan to be able to take their masks off as soon as possible, but it also needs to be safe. He also didn’t seem very interested in establishing different rules for people who are vaccinated and those who aren’t.

“We’re in this together in Saskatchewan and we’re going to pull out of this together,” said Moe.

Health Minister Paul Merriman said the province had laid out a robust, but simple, plan.

“We’re waiting until we get into that phase three area when we start looking at what do we have to do with masking in public places. It’s certainly not something that we’re looking at moving up, but we want to make that we’re doing our plan in a very safe roll out,” explained Merriman.

If the re-opening plan proceeds as quickly as Moe has hoped, the third phase would arrive in about eight weeks.

Federal re-opening guidelines

On Friday, Canada’s Chief Medical Health Officer announced its re-opening guidelines which talk about people needing to get vaccinated in the spring, some restrictions being lifted in the summer, and then, as more people are fully vaccinated, more rules being lifted in the fall.

1/3 #Epidemiology/modelling shows, by maintaining control measures until at least 75% of eligible adults have received a 1st dose of #COVID19Vaccine and at least 20% of these have had their 2nd dose, we will likely drive infection rates low enough…https://t.co/8UhOUq634N

— Dr. Theresa Tam (@CPHO_Canada) May 14, 2021

2/3 and raise #COVID19Vaccine protection high enough to allow for safe lifting of restrictions, without overwhelming the healthcare/public health system capacity that is necessary for keeping #COVID19 activity at low/manageable levels.

— Dr. Theresa Tam (@CPHO_Canada) May 14, 2021

3/3 Half way is not okay! 1-dose of a 2-dose #COVID19 vaccine series is not enough to maximise protection. We must still aim for at least 75% of everyone who is eligible for vaccination getting fully vaccinated, including 2-doses of a 2-dose series! https://t.co/wgR9OL0TyN pic.twitter.com/L4aNHT6Dl6

— Dr. Theresa Tam (@CPHO_Canada) May 14, 2021

Moe shrugged off the guidelines, saying Saskatchewan will continue to follow its own plan.

The guidelines include a benchmark of 75 per cent of people with their first dose and 20 per cent with their second. Moe said, with the way numbers are going now, Saskatchewan will likely hit those numbers anyway.

“Quite likely we will meet those particular metrics by the time we fully re-open here in Saskatchewan,” said Moe.

The premier said he presumes the federal government will follow its proposed guidelines for international travel measures, because the rest of those in place in the country are under provincial jurisdiction.