The provincial government has announced that on May 30th, Saskatchewan moves to Step 1 of the re-open plan, which means residents in long-term care and personal care homes will be able to see an unlimited number of visitors, two at a time, indoors, and four at a time outside. Seniors Minister Everett Hindley says this replaces the previous requirement which stated that 90 per cent of residents needed to be fully vaccinated before allowing visitors.

The requirements for Step 2 are that 70 per cent of people 30 and over will have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and it’s at least three weeks since the first step began. Hindley expects Step 2 is not far behind Step 1, and that means residents of long-term care and care homes will be able to have four visitors at a time indoors and 9 visitors outdoors.

Around 73,000 Saskatchewan people received AstraZeneca as their first dose of vaccine and the province isn’t sure yet what second shots will be. Several provinces have suspended this vaccine because of the extremely rare possibility of blood clots. Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, says there is a Canadian trial and a UK trial they are following where Pfizer is used as a second dose, but they won’t have the results for a few weeks. He suggests it remains within the timeframe of when people should receive second doses.

He notes that a second dose of Pfizer after Astrazeneca can cause more local side effects, but if it is effective, it could be a possibility but Dr. Shahab says all of the vaccines approved in Canada are safe. For those who are concerned with loosening COVID-19 restrictions when there are variants in Saskatchewan, the province’s Chief Medical Health Officer says not to fear. Dr. Saqib Shahab says this province has had a high uptake in vaccines and they are all effective for the original strain and the variants.