Saskatoon City Council has approved the colour-coded framework for COVID-19 that was passed during last week’s Governance and Priorities Committee meeting. The framework uses the best available data to inform how and when to increase or relax various COVID safety measures within the City’s legislative jurisdiction.

Pamela Goulden-McLeod, the City’s Director of Emergency Management says currently Saskatoon is in a high-risk ‘orange’ situation. Goulden-McLeod adds that the framework is not to be considered another level or layer of health restrictions, instead it’s a guide to help the City of Saskatoon make decisions about how they can keep staff and services running and to ensure transparency and predictability for staff and residents.

The framework also indicates that when a specific health restriction specific to Saskatoon is required but falls under the jurisdiction of the province, a letter from the Mayor and City Council will be sent to the province requesting that measure be put in place for Saskatoon.

The four colour codes are based off of four primary indicators including the seven-day average for cases per 100 thousand people and vaccination rates.

In the red zone, which is critical, the City would close all of their facilities which includes City Hall and leisure centres. Mandatory testing would also be required for all staff, no matter their vaccination status.

The four colour schemes are:

• green – minimal risk
• yellow – caution
• orange – highrisk
• red – critical risk