New measures have been set out by the Government of Saskatchewan to fight COVID-19.
Effective Thursday, private gatherings will be limited to immediate household members only.
Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab says it’s time to focus on where the transmission is happening, which is mostly in household settings or when people are meeting and greeting each other. Shahab says these are things that come to us naturally, all the time and especially during the holidays, but at this time he says they are leading to ongoing COVID-19 transmission. He points to the tragic situations currently going on in long term care facilities, which he calls devastating for residents, their families and health care workers. Shahab says these are all factors for residents to stay extra vigilant over the holiday season.
Under the new measures single people are able to meet with one consistent household of less than five people, co-parenting arrangements can continue, and care givers and support services are permitted. Outdoor gatherings will drop from 30 to 10 people.
Personal Services and Event Venues
New restrictions on personal services and event venues will go into effect this weekend. On Saturday casinos and bingo halls will need to close, while personal services like hairdressers, esthetics, massage therapy, and tattooing will need to operate at 50% capacity.
Premier Scott Moe says he is opposed to a massive lock-down in the province but adds if we are not able to continue to drive down COVID-19 numbers, it’s not off the table or out of the question. Moe suggests the approach they have tried to take is one to slow things down to a degree where the capacity of the healthcare system can be preserved, preserve the opportunity for people to go to work each day, and to preserve the opportunity for students to go to school.
Event venues like conference facilities, arenas, arts venues, museums, movie and live theatres and banquet facilities will remain at 30 individuals. Guests must be seated for the duration of their time there and food and drink is not permitted unless explicitly stated in the public health order. These limitations apply to weddings and funerals as well, with the government cautioning that concurrent services may not occur within multiple locations within one facility.
Retail Stores
Christmas day will see changes to retail stores in Saskatchewan for COVID-19 measures. That day, retail services will need to reduce their capacity of customers and employees to 50%, large retail locations will be required to limit their capacity to 25% capacity. Large retail locations are defined as retailers with a square footage larger than 20,000 square feet.
Premier Scott Moe says the government understands Monday’s announcement may impact a number of additional small businesses, and that those businesses may now, if required and if they qualify, collect the Small Business Emergency Payment.
New measures along with all previously announced COVID-19 measures, in the province, will remain in effect until at least January 15th, 2021.
