Regina and Saskatoon will introduce drive-through testing sites which will require only a health card, not a referral as the province works towards the capacity of conducting 4000 tests a day.

Targeted school testing is a key focus of the expanded testing plans, with plans including targeted monitoring, testing of students with parental consent, and priority testing for teachers and school staff.

Students will now be rescheduled to return to class on the Tuesday after Labour Day, September 8.

Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer says the province went through the reopening of the economy, the health system and community services successfully and he expects the same for going back to school next month.

Dr. Saqib Shahab says the best way to protect the students and staff, other than through the Back To School Plan, is to keep community transmission low.

The $40 million in new funding previously announced for education will be allocated as follows:

$20 million will be available to school divisions on an application basis for pandemic-related costs including staffing and sanitation supplies;

$10 million will be available to enhance non-classroom options like distance learning to help ensure immunocompromised and medically fragile students have continuous access to learning cross school divisions, available on an application basis; and

$10 million will be allocated to the Ministry of Education to centrally procure masks, PPE and other supplies for school divisions.

Dr. Shahab also reminds parents that the symptoms for COVID are similar to those for colds and flues, and he estimates 99 per cent of the time, when a child has symptoms, it won’t be COVID-19.