Neck guard sales jump after Sask. hockey player slashed by skate
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More adult players are now investing in the protective equipment.
Recoveries may have outnumbered new COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan for a third straight day Wednesday, but the provincial government still extended its state of emergency for two weeks.
The state of emergency initially was declared March 18 and the province now has extended it four times.
“Even as active case numbers are low or zero in some regions of the province, residents are reminded that COVID-19 is still present and all public health orders remain in effect,” the government said in a media release.
“Having few or no active cases demonstrates that personal protective measures are effective and continue to be the best defence against COVID-19.”
Gatherings are still limited to a maximum of 10 people and measures such as physical distancing and hand-washing are still required.
The government announced Wednesday there were 11 more recoveries and four new cases. All four of the new cases were in the La Loche area in the far north.
During the daily provincial update on Wednesday, Premier Scott Moe said the COVID-19 outbreak in northern Saskatchewan and in particular La Loche appears to be improving as the virus is spreading at a much slower pace than it was a couple of weeks ago. He said the northern travel bans were a key part of containing the spread between communities.
“I think with the numbers that we have seen since that public health order has been put in place is that they are improving and we are starting to get to a much more manageable situation,” Moe said.
The premier noted there are no cases in northeastern or north central regions of the province and he credited the work of northern leaders and health officials for working hard to get the outbreak under control. He thanked individuals for taking personal responsibility for social distancing to slow the spread.
While travel is out of the question for the May long weekend, Moe said it is fair to have a discussion “in the days ahead” with northern leaders about how to “focus restrictions on where they need to be.”
Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said it is important to recognize there are two different stories in the province. He noted the decline in case numbers in the northwest region shows it is possible to manage outbreaks when they happen.
To date, there have been 577 cases in Saskatchewan and 385 recoveries. Six residents of the province have died.
Of the total number of cases, 206 have been in the far north, 163 have been in Saskatoon, 106 have been in the north (including one that was added to that region’s total after initially being assigned to Regina), 75 have been in Regina, 15 have been in the south and 12 have been in the central region.
The government said 297 of the cases involve community contacts, 139 are travellers, 76 are still under investigation and 65 don’t have any known exposures.
There have been 204 cases in the 20-to-39 age range, 179 between the ages of 40 and 59, 98 in the 60-to-79 range, 79 aged 19 and under, and 17 aged 80 and over.
There have been 48 cases involving health-care workers.
The province is now reporting 186 active cases, with 149 in the far north, 25 in the north, 11 in Saskatoon and one in the central region. Regina and the southern region don’t have any active cases.
There are 10 people in hospital in the province, including seven (four in the north and three in Saskatoon) who are receiving inpatient care. Three people are in intensive care in Saskatoon.
The number of hospitalizations in the province has dropped by nearly half since Friday, when there were 19 people in hospital.
There were 462 tests performed in the province Tuesday, bringing the total to date to 38,157.
“Obviously with zero active cases in most of Saskatchewan there is a lot of interest in many sectors reopening, and we can understand that,” Shahab said.
Shahab maintained the need for diligence in social distancing rules as phase 2 of the Re-Open plan begins next week with more non-essential retail stores and personal services opening.
“It is critical that we are able to see that for at least a two to four week period once phase 2 reopens that we do not see any increase in transmission,” Shahab said.
When asked why it is considered safe to reopen malls and various retail stores but not public services like libraries, Shahab said they represent two very different environments. He pointed to the importance of guidelines to minimize browsing and only touching what you need or intend to buy from a store and to ensure customers and workers can maintain physical distancing in the aisles and check-outs. A library would be very different due to shared computer terminals and play areas for children, so those factors must be considered.
Moe wants to introduce budget
Appearing on Gormley on Wednesday, Premier Scott Moe said he — like NDP Leader Ryan Meili — wants to get back to some sort of normalcy when it comes to the legislature.
Moe said it was important to the province to have some sort of government oversight. But he also wants some form of session so that his government can introduce a budget.
“We’ve introduced our spending investment, but we would like to introduce some type of a budget if that’s at all possible,” Moe said. “It’s not possible in the most traditional way.
“We won’t be going back into the legislature in the same way for the same number of days that we normally would. That just isn’t on. That’s what the Leader of the Opposition has called for and that just quite frankly won’t be happening.”
Moe said house leaders are trying to set up the parameters for some kind of legislative session. If an agreement can’t be reached, Moe said the government will release a budget, its revenue projections and its spending projections to the public before the fall election.
Election planning
On Wednesday, the provincial government approved changes to The Election Act Regulations to give the chief electoral officer more authority to ensure the Oct. 26 election is done safely.
As a result of the changes, the chief electoral officer can change anything he sees fit to reduce the health risks to the voters.
The province also announced that, after consulting with municipal organizations, it has delayed resort village elections from July 25 to Aug. 29.