The number of new COVID-19 cases in the province continues to surge. However, Saskatchewan hasn’t seen the numbers other parts of the country are.
For the first time since late November, the province saw over 100 new cases, something that modelling shows could become normal with daily cases, hospitalizations, and ICU admissions expected to increase in the next month without stronger public health interventions, such as gathering limits.
NDP Leader Ryan Meili said that there are lots he believes can be done by the province.
“We need to be looking at restrictions on gatherings and restrictions on capacity in public places, and that’s what is being done around the country; we are the only province that hasn’t introduced any new measure,” he said. “We had the worst fourth wave in the entire country on every measure. We still have the lowest vaccination rate in the entire country; we need to be looking at those restrictions on gatherings, restrictions on the size of large events, and expanding the places in which proof of vaccination is required.”
So far, the Sask. Party has extended the mask mandate and COVID-19 vaccine requirements until the end of January.
Meili said overall he feels that considering how bad the fourth wave went for the province, they need some type of plan.
“You’ve got a government that has all of the information has the modelling, has the expert advice, and should be able to tell us if we reach point X, we will take action Y, if we get this many new cases, we will act in these ways. But instead, it’s always a surprise; it’s wait till the last minute,” he said.
“Let’s see the roadmap in front of us. Obviously, it changes as the virus changes, as life changes, but let lay out those plans as best we are able, and I don’t think we have time to wait; this is what we had heard from Dr. Shabab yesterday, we are talking days or hours,” he continued. “We know that the government is telling us two stories, things are about to get bad, and we are not going to do anything about it until they are bad. That doesn’t make any sense. We’ve been through that before; it doesn’t work.
