Moe reiterates no new health measures on tap for Saskatchewan

The Saskatchewan government is once again nixing the idea of new public health measures to battle rising COVID-related hospitalizations in the province.

In a statement Thursday, Premier Scott Moe responded to calls for more measures amid reports that a record number of hospitalizations could result unless measures such as gathering limits are imposed.

“The government recognizes that hospitalizations are rising and will continue to rise for some period of time,” Moe wrote.

“However, we see no clear evidence that lockdown measures have reduced hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths in other provinces and as a result, there is no reason to impose harmful new restrictions in Saskatchewan.”

The leaders of six Saskatchewan labour unions gathered Thursday to urge the province to implement restrictions.

The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees Union and the Service Employees International Union West are all calling on the province to listen to the series of recommendations recently made by Dr. Saqib Shahab, the province’s chief medical health officer.

Some of the requests include limiting gathering sizes to 10 people, limiting the frequency of any gatherings and keeping contacts consistent.

According to leaked government modelling data, the number of people with COVID in the province’s hospitals could reach record levels by mid-February unless stricter measures are brought in.

A story by The Canadian Press said the data showed a best-case scenario of more than 500 patients if new measures aren’t imposed. The highest number of COVID-related hospitalizations to date in Saskatchewan is 356 on Oct. 6.

In his statement, Moe said modelling is just one of the factors in the government’s decision-making process. He said a greater emphasis is put on real-time data from across Canada.

“Saskatchewan’s current rates of COVID-19-related hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths are currently well below the national average and well below other provinces that have introduced severe restrictions,” Moe wrote.

“Saskatchewan’s current rate of hospitalizations is 18.2 per 100,000 population, 34 per cent below the national rate of 27.5. Saskatchewan’s current rate of ICU admissions is 1.9 per 100,000 population, 39 per cent below the national rate of 3.1.”

As of Wednesday, there were 199 people with COVID in the province’s health-care facilities — the highest that number has been since it was 199 on Nov. 6. The number had increased by 120 since Dec. 31.

Moe noted there hadn’t been any COVID-related deaths in the province in the previous 13 days, and only six in January. He added the province’s rate of COVID-related deaths this month is the lowest in Canada and 90 per cent below the national rate of 4.8 per 100,000.

“It is worth noting that Quebec, with the most severe lockdown measures in Canada, has the highest COVID-19 fatality rate in Canada in January and one of the highest current rates in the world,” Moe wrote.

On Thursday, Ontario announced a three-step plan to ease COVID-19 restrictions, which will allow indoor dining and gyms to reopen and will increase gathering limits on Jan. 31. Ontario reintroduced health restrictions on Jan. 5 to limit transmission and keep hospitalizations manageable.

Saskatchewan remains the only province in Canada without any form of public health restrictions such as gathering or capacity limits or limiting hours at restaurants, gyms and retail buildings.

“Again, these numbers are not modelling but real-time data as reported daily by provincial governments, and are being tracked closely to inform our government’s response,” Moe said.

— With files from The Canadian Press