With rising transmission rates in Saskatchewan, the province has decided under the recommendation of the Chief Medical Health Officer to keep the current restrictions in place for an extra two weeks until January 29th, and then see where things are at. Dr. Saqib Shahab says the rise in cases of COVID-19 is because of non-compliance from businesses and households over the Christmas holidays.

Had the transmission rates remained steady or gone down, the extra restrictions could have been lifted on Friday. Dr. Shahab notes that all it takes is 5 to 10 per cent non-compliance for transmission to increase.

Premier Scott Moe added that a new set of communities will receive some of the 5,400 doses of Moderna vaccine expected to arrive this week. Over 50 communities will receive some of the doses, in Canora, Kamsack, Kelvington, Wadena and surrounding areas in the East Central area and Weyburn and a number of surrounding communities in the Southeast. This is along with delivering more vaccines to the north.

The restrictions announced mid-December include:
-mandatory masking in public
-private, indoor gatherings limited to immediate household members only
-outdoor meet and greets of no more than 10 people, so long as physical distancing between households is maintained
-non-essential inter-provincial travel is discouraged
-the Public Health Orders for licensed establishments, sports, fitness and dance, plus places of worship remain in place. That means business having a 50 per cent capacity at the most and larger retail businesses at 25 per cent, four people per table and three metres between tables, and places of worship, concert venues and theatres are limited to 30 people.