Premier Scott Moe. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME file photo)

By CKOM News

Mandatory masking, vaccine passports coming to Saskatchewan

Sep 16, 2021 | 12:39 PM

Just over two months after dropping all COVID-19 public health measures — and with new and active cases increasing at a high rate — Saskatchewan is bringing one measure back and instituting another.

In a video posted on Facebook and his Twitter feed Thursday, Premier Scott Moe said the province will again be making masks mandatory in indoor public spaces as of Friday.

The province also will require proof of vaccination or proof of a negative COVID test to access some businesses, establishments and event venues in the province as of Oct. 1.

Moe said the latter policy will not include several services that are necessary for every citizen in the province.

When it takes effect, the masking mandate is expected to be removed.

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As well, all employees of government ministries, Crowns and agencies will have to get vaccinated, with proof of full vaccination required by Oct. 1. If they can’t be vaccinated, they’ll have to provide regular proof of negative tests.

“These aren’t measures that we wanted to implement and as a government, we have been patient in providing the opportunity and the access to get vaccinated, but that patience has now come to an end,” Moe said in the video.

“The vast majority of Saskatchewan people have done the right thing and they are growing tired of the reckless decision of the unvaccinated that is now driving our fourth wave.”

Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, also echoed Moe’s sentiments about a lack of patience for people are refusing vaccinations.

Blaming governments and giving “lazy commentary” is not the reality, he said during Thursday’s press conference with Moe and president and CEO of the Saskatchewan Health Authority, Scott Livingstone. The reality of the current situation is that 30 per cent of Saskatchewan people have refused to be vaccinated.

“And so this results in ongoing pressures on the health system and delayed surgeries. This will result in ongoing measures like today or even tighter until we get out of this hyperendemic period of high transmission while we are in the global pandemic. And I would say all of this would have been unnecessary if we’d have stepped forward and received high vaccination rates.”

While Saskatchewan and Canada is higher than some entire countries, every resident has access to vaccinations, said Shahab.

“One wonders why, with vaccines widely available, a highly literate population as we claim to be will not take up that offer.”

Masking mandate

Masks won’t be required for indoor sporting events for those under 18 while they’re participating in the athletic activity.

Masks will be required in facilities hosting youth athletics for entry and exit into the buildings for athletes and spectators.

Proof of vaccination

Starting Oct. 1, proof of vaccination or proof of a negative test will be necessary at businesses, establishments and event venues that bring groups of people together. Those include:

• Indoor dining at restaurants;
• Nightclubs, bars, taverns and other licensed establishments;
• Event and entertainment venues, including conference centres, casinos, movie theatres, concert venues, live-music venues, museums, and indoor facilities hosting ticketed sporting events; and,
• Indoor fitness centres, and gyms.

Proof of vaccination won’t be required at:

• Retail businesses, including grocery stores;
• Places of worship;
• Fast food restaurants offering takeout and delivery;
• Health care services, professional services, or personal services;
• Hotels or other lodging;
• Facilities hosting non-ticketed amateur sporting events, including youth athletics and recreational leagues;
• Business meetings and places of business closed to the general public, unless otherwise directed by the business or employer;
• Private gatherings held at an indoor public residence.

The government noted the QR code for proof of vaccination will be launched starting next week.

In addition to requiring its own employees to get vaccinated or provide negative tests, the government also encouraged other employers — including school divisions — to implement a similar policy.

Rapid-antigen tests

The government plans to expand access to rapid-antigen tests for home-based screening.

“The Ministry of SaskBuilds and Procurement in conjunction with the Ministry of Health is working to procure and distribute rapid-antigen tests for widespread access,” the government said in a media release.

“Residents will be able to obtain rapid-antigen tests for use as a self-administered screening tool from several locations operated by the Saskatchewan Health Authority and partner agencies.”

Those locations are to be published in the coming days.

The numbers

The government lifted all public health restrictions on July 11, opting instead to rely on people to get vaccinated as the only tool in the fight against the virus.

Since that day, just over 200,000 doses of COVID vaccine have been administered in the province and 149,000 more people now have received both doses. Total vaccinations as of Thursday were 1,508,026 and there were 712,354 people double-vaccinated.

But over the past 66 days, there have been 11,467 new cases of COVID — more than one-sixth of the total recorded in the province since the pandemic began in March of 2020.

As well, active cases have risen from 399 on July 11 to 4,064 on Thursday, and hospitalizations went from 54 (with six people in intensive care) to 218 (with 48 in ICU) on Thursday. There also have been 58 deaths since the public health measures were lifted.

“Unfortunately today, we are faced with a fourth wave resulting in increased case numbers and a significant capacity pressure in our health-care system which is close to exceeding what we have faced before,” Moe said.

“But unlike previous waves, this wave of the pandemic is being driven almost entirely by one group that consists of about 20 to 30 per cent of our population — those that have made the choice to remain unvaccinated.

“New cases are overwhelmingly in unvaccinated people. Hospitalizations are overwhelmingly unvaccinated people. The evidence from the data that we have seen is quite clear. As a province and as a government, we have been very patient – possibly too patient. The time for patience is now over.”

On Thursday, the province reported 439 new cases of COVID-19, 98 of which were under the age of 12. That age group currently isn’t eligible to be vaccinated.

Moe put the blame squarely on those who haven’t been vaccinated.

“The choice to not get vaccinated is not just affecting you, it is now seriously impacting those who did do the right thing and it is now seriously impacting those who cannot get vaccinated — our children — and it’s prolonging the pandemic for everyone,” he said.

“The choice to not get vaccinated is creating consequences for others and I would say very soon it is going to create consequences for those who have made the decision to remain unvaccinated.”

The new measures aren’t as sweeping as those that went into effect in Alberta on Thursday, even though Saskatchewan and Alberta have the highest infection rates and lowest vaccination rates in Canada.

When Alberta announced its vaccine passport plan Wednesday night, that left Saskatchewan as the largest province in Canada without such a policy.