The Saskatchewan Health Authority’s annual report for the fiscal year 2019-20 doesn’t have an estimated cost for the pandemic to date, however it does state that it is complex and rapidly evolving and will have a major impact on the health sector and the Saskatchewan Health Services. It says, “The pandemic is expected to lead to an increase in demand for health services which could impact the SHA’s financial position and operations but the full impact cannot be reasonably estimated at this time.

Looking at the financials, for the year ending March 31st, the SHA recorded a consolidated surplus of $65.49-million compared to a deficit of $28.74-million the previous year. Expenses were $214-million over budget at $4.316-billion but that was balanced out by $4.38-billion in revenue, which was a $225-million increase increase from the projected budget. The report says Ministry of Health revenue accounts for the majority of the additional revenue for COVID-19, mental health and addictions and connected care and community care.

The pandemic was in its beginnings when the fiscal year ended. The report lists all of the planning involved, including medical health officers meeting in January to talk about the novel pneumonia that had hit in China, then in February the SHA began to rapidly plan for a potential pandemic. That included increasing its PPE inventory, and working groups tasked with infection control, employee health and laboratory testing, and other topics pertinent to the pandemic.