Saskatchewan takes more steps to fight COVID-19 in the north

The Saskatchewan government is stepping up its battle against COVID-19 in northern Saskatchewan.

The government announced Thursday that it’s tightening travel restrictions for that region, particularly in the Northern Saskatchewan Administrative District (NSAD).

The far north has the most active cases in the province, with 50. The province announced Thursday that one of its six new cases was in La Loche.

Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, issued a revised public health order for the northern areas of the province. The order:

• Restricts all non-essential travel (including those with primary residences) into and out of the NSAD, as well as restricting all non-essential travel between northern communities; and,
• Requires northern residents to stay in their local communities and to practise appropriate social distancing.

People getting groceries or going to medical appointments will be allowed to do so. Travel needed to deliver essential services also will be permitted.

Asked during a media conference why the order covered the entire northern region instead of specific areas such as La Loche, Premier Scott Moe said it was “due to the choices of the municipal and Indigenous leaders in the north.”

“We’re asking people to stay home in the north,” Moe continued. “We’re working with their local leadership in this initiative and for the time being — and it won’t be forever — we are asking people to stay at home and stay in their community.

“It works in controlling this virus when we limit movement of people, both outside of their home and within their community and across the province. We have shown that.”

The municipalities of La Ronge and Stony Rapids have been granted exemptions from the travel restrictions. Travel to and from La Ronge and Stony Rapids from outside the NSAD will be allowed, but people can’t stop in other communities.

The government also announced it’s providing $370,000 to the fight against the virus in the far north. The vast majority — $350,000 — is to help with the operation of community checkpoints created under a recent public health order.

La Loche is to receive $20,000 to support local public safety, food security and educational initiatives being organized in that community.

As well, the government said it’s adding seasonal businesses such as northern outfitters to the Saskatchewan Small Business Emergency Payment.

Moe noted that outfitters already have lost their international customers thanks to previous travel restrictions, but the latest ban will cost the outfitters provincial clients as well.

Those businesses will be eligible for grants up to $5,000 through the emergency payment like other small- and medium-sized businesses that had to close or cut their operations due to COVID-19.

Help provided to lower-income workers

The government announced it’s offering a temporary wage supplement to lower-income essential workers to help them help others through the pandemic.

Some 35,000 eligible employees will have their salaries topped by $400 per month for up to 16 weeks. The support is retroactive to March 15.

Workers are eligible if they earn less than $2,500 per month and are employed at: Senior-care facilities, including private care homes and home care; licensed child-care facilities; group homes run by community-based organizations; and, emergency shelters and transition shelters.

Caregivers, cooks and cleaners who are full-time and part-time employees will be eligible.

Finance Minister Donna Harpauer said the eligible workers are in many cases standing in for family members who can’t visit their loved ones bcause of quarantines.

The federal government is providing $53 million for the program, with the province kicking in just under $3 million.

Daycare plans announced

Anyone working now or returning to work under Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan can put their kids in licensed child-care services located in Saskatchewan schools.

Phase 1 of the plan is to take effect Monday.

School-based child-care facilities were closed by the government last month, but more than 2,100 spaces were reserved for pandemic response workers. The government says there now is capacity to make spaces available to other workers.

For those who aren’t eligible, Moe said the province is encouraging people to work at home to lessen the load on daycares. As well, there still are home-based daycares that could be accepting new clients.

Details are on the government’s website.

A look at the cases

In addition to the new case in La Loche, three of the new cases are in the north — including two in Lloydminster, the site of one of the newest outbreaks in the province — and two are in the Saskatoon area.

Four more people have recovered, bringing the total in Saskatchewan to date to 295. Six people have died.

There are 88 cases that are considered active.

Ten people are in hospital, including seven receiving inpatient care (four in Lloydminster and three in Saskatoon) and three people in intensive care in Saskatoon.

Saskatoon has had the most cases in the province with 153, followed by the north (77), Regina (75), the far north (58), the south (15), and the central region (11).

There have been 39 health-care workers infected.

The 29,642 COVID-19 tests done to date in the province includes 536 on Wednesday.