One new COVID-19 case reported; Phase 4.2 of reopening plan begins

The Saskatchewan government announced one new case of COVID-19 and 18 more recoveries Monday, the same day that Phase “4.2.1” of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan began.

Libraries, movie theatres, art galleries and museums were allowed to open in the stage, although many of them are taking extra time to prepare before opening.

Indoor pools and rinks, casinos, bingo halls and indoor sports facilities will be opened in the next stage of Phase 4, but there isn’t a date set for them yet.

Dr. Saqib Shahab, Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer, told Gormley on Monday the dates for the opening of those facilities are to be announced this week.

The one new case announced Monday was in the far north.

Saskatchewan now has reported 779 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. A total of 679 people have recovered, while 13 residents of the province have died due to complications from the virus.

There now are 87 active cases in the province, including 47 in the far north, 32 in the south, four in the north and four in Saskatoon. Neither Regina nor the central region has an active case recorded.

Five people — three in the north, one in Saskatoon and one in the south — are receiving inpatient care in hospital. There currently aren’t any COVID-19 patients in intensive care.

Shahab discusses Phase 4

Asked why Phase 4 has been split up like it has, Shahab said it’s in order to minimize outbreaks and hammer down guidelines.

“Whenever you open a certain sector, if not now, maybe in the future, you may see a case or a cluster,” he said. “That’s no (reason) to panic or say, ‘The whole sector needs to be rolled back.’

“We just need to understand the transmission dynamics and then either refine some of the guidelines or, if it’s a local outbreak, think about what steps need to be taken.”

Even though cases in the province have continued to rise over the past month, Shahab is still optimistic about moving forward with reopening the economy.

“Thankfully, while COVID activity has not gone away, it’s fairly quiet throughout Saskatchewan. As long as we follow the guidelines, we should do well,” he said.

Garage sales are still not allowed, and a date hasn’t been attached to them moving forward.

“That’s an area where a lot of people have an interest …,” Shahab said. “We wanted to get the formal sectors reopened first, because I think that’s really important from an economic activity point of view.

“We are developing some guidelines (for garage sales). I’m guessing it will be similar to everything else we have to do: Maintain your two-metre distance (and) wash your hands.

“I think we will get there, but we wanted to make sure we moved in a systematic way and get some of the other sectors open, continue to watch, and then look at garage sales.”

As for a possible date, he didn’t set anything concrete.

“I can’t promise anything right now … (For) us having some direction on that, maybe in a week or two at the most,” he said.

A look at the numbers

Of the total number of cases, 472 are community contacts, 165 are travellers, 103 don’t have any known exposures, and 39 are being investigated by local public health officials.

To date, 55 health-care workers have contracted the virus.

There have been 324 cases in the far north, 186 from the Saskatoon area, 114 from the north, 80 in the Regina area, 63 from the south and 12 in the central region.

The total includes 268 cases in the 20-to-39 age range, 247 between the ages of 40 and 59, 130 between the ages of 60 and 79, 113 involving people 19 and under, and 21 among people aged 80 and over.

The 696 cases done Sunday increased the provincial total to date to 65,496.

Government extends support for youth in care

The provincial government announced Monday it would again extend support services to youths in care whose transition to independence was affected by COVID-19.

Services that were to end Tuesday now will be extended to Jan. 5. Any young person who ages out of care will have more choice in their transition.

The original extension was announced March 31.

The government said the cost to extend the services into January is anticipated to be around $1.5 million.