With a fourth wave of COVID-19, Saskatoon City Council’s agenda on Monday included whether or not to make masks mandatory for city workers and whether or not to have weekly testing for the virus, while keeping the results anonymous. Mayor Charlie Clark noted some of the conversation included vaccinations, but he stressed that was not included in Administration’s report. The item was tabled with more discussion to begin at 1 on Tuesday afternoon.

A report from Saskatoon Medical Health Officer, Dr. Jasmine Hasselback, says the Delta variant is the dominant form of the virus across the province right now and especially in Saskatoon.
She says hospitals are struggling. Dr. Hasselback says there are still a large number of partially or non-protected individuals across the province. Her message to Council was to have people work from home if they can, cohort wherever possible, wear a mask, and continue to promote vaccinations, recognizing that COVID-19 is still a reality. She advised that when it comes to vaccinations, look at the City’s facilities and figure out what is best.

Prior to the meeting, there was an anti-vaccination rally at City Hall over the noon hour. A caller to the CJWW newsroom estimated there were about 50 people in attendance, with some trying to get into the building.