It will be three more weeks before the provincial government looks at either keeping the current slate of COVID-19 restrictions or making changes to the public health order.
On Tuesday, Premier Scott Moe and Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab announced an extension of the current public health measures to February 19 when the restrictions will be up for review. They were set to expire on Friday before Tuesday’s announcement.
The decision was made despite some critics in the province calling for tougher restrictions like what has happened in other provinces this month. Moe reassured residents that he continues to have confidence in the current restrictions.
“They work, they proved to work before Christmas. They have been working since Christmas and we are starting to see our numbers drop now,” explained the premier.
As of Thursday, active cases in Saskatchewan went down to 2,478, down from this month’s peak of 4,265 recorded on January 18. However as of Wednesday, Saskatchewan posted the second-highest rate of active cases in the country at 215 behind Manitoba at 252.
Dr. Shahab said on Tuesday that if COVID numbers continue to decrease it could result in restrictions easing up eventually, but that is if people work together to bring the numbers down.
“If our numbers go down, I think we would all like to be able to go back to meeting with one or two consistent households and keeping a small bubble,” admitted Shahab.
He noted that private gatherings and outbreaks at restaurants and bars are still creating setbacks in terms of transmission reduction efforts in the province.
Under the current health measures, private indoor gatherings remain limited to immediate household members only. People are permitted to meet and greet outdoors with up to 10 people only, provided physical distancing between households can be maintained.
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