A photo taken inside Boston Pizza in Prince Albert. (File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Provincial COVID update

Capacity limits at retail stores, restaurants and bars to be lifted June 20

May 24, 2021 | 2:18 PM

With over 70 per cent of Saskatchewan residents age 30 and older having received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, the provincial government confirmed step two on the province Re-Opening Roadmap, will begin on Sunday, June 20.

In Step Two, public health measures will be eased as follows:

• No capacity thresholds on retail and personal care services, must maintain an occupancy that allows for physical distancing;
• Restaurants and bars will have no table capacity thresholds, must maintain two metres of physical distancing or structural barriers between tables, dance floors and buffets remain closed;
• 150 person maximum capacity at event facilities, casinos, bingo halls, theatres, art galleries, libraries and recreational facilities, must maintain an occupancy that allows for physical distancing, restaurant guidelines apply at venues that serve food;
• Long-term care and personal care home residents may have up to four visitors indoors and nine visitors outdoors;
• No change from Step One at gyms and fitness facilities, primary, secondary and post-secondary education and childcare;
• All remaining restrictions on youth and adult sports will be lifted;
• Limit of 15 people at private indoor gatherings, including household gatherings;
• Limit of 150 people at public indoor gatherings and private and public outdoor gatherings; and
• Current province-wide masking mandate remains in place.

In an emailed statement, Premier Scott Moe thanked Saskatchewan people for doing their part and getting vaccinated.

“The reason we are able to do this, to lift these restrictions, is because Saskatchewan people are getting vaccinated,” Moe said. “And the vaccines are working. Vaccines are driving down case numbers and hospitalizations and making Saskatchewan safer.”

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Every Saskatchewan resident age 12 and older is now eligible to receive their first dose of vaccine. Moe urged everyone who has not done so already to get their first shot as soon as possible.

Vaccines Reported

An additional 6,466 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 662,854.

The 6,466 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered to residents living in the following zones: Far North West, 28; Far North Central, 8; Far North East, 14; North West, 649; North Central, 391; North East, 138; Saskatoon, 2,778; Central West, 69; Central East, 474; Regina, 1,177; South West, 56; South Central, 77; and South East, 444. There were 163 doses administered with zone of residence pending.

Seventy-six per cent of those over the age of 40 have received their first dose. Seventy per cent of those 30+ have received their first dose. Sixty-three per cent of those 18+ have received their first dose.

Second dose vaccination appointments can be booked through the Saskatchewan Health Authority online or by calling 1-833-SaskVax (1-833-727-5829).

The current list of pharmacies offering vaccinations is available here.

(gov.sk.ca)

Daily COVID-19 Statistics

There are 103 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on May 24, bringing the provincial total to 45,709 cases. One case tested out of province was added to the Saskatoon zone.

The new cases are located in the following zones: Far North West, 3; Far North East, 3; North West, 18; North Central, 3; Saskatoon, 34; Central West, 1; Central East, 10; Regina, 14; South West, 1; South Central, 4; and South East, 8. Three new cases are pending residence information. Three previously reported case with pending residence were added to the North West (2) and North Central (1) zones.

Recoveries total 43,645 and 1,537 cases are considered active.

There are 133 people in hospital. One hundred and five people are receiving inpatient care: North West, 8; North Central, 4; Saskatoon, 39; Central East, 4; Regina, 44; South West, 1; South Central, 2; and South East, 3. Twenty-eight people are in intensive care: North West, 2; North Central, 2; Saskatoon, 10; Central East, 1; and Regina, 13.

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 case number is 142 (11.6 new cases per 100,000). A chart comparing today’s average to data collected over the past few months is available at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness/covid-19/seven-day-average-of-new-covid-cases.

(Government of Saskatchewan)

Variants of concern

As of May 23, 10,148 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the following zones: Far North West, 234; Far North East, 25; North West, 560; North Central, 375; North East, 58; Saskatoon, 1,541; Central West, 107; Central East, 556; Regina, 4,538; South West, 346; South Central, 711; and South East, 1,032. There are 65 screened VOCs with residence pending.

There are no new lineage results reported today. Of the 5,431 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 5,273 are B.1.1.1.7 (UK), 124 are P.1 (Brazilian), 24 are B.1.617 (Indian) and 10 are B.1.351 (SA).

Further statistics on the total number of cases among health care workers, breakdowns of total cases by source of infection, age, sex and region, total tests to date, per capita testing rate and current numbers of confirmed variants of concern can be found at http://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-cases.

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell