Premier Scott Moe says effective immediately the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre will be responsible for the operational, planning, logistical and administrative aspects of the emergency response to COVID-19 in Saskatchewan. The province has activated the Provincial Command through the PEOC to lead the response to COVID-19.

Moe explains the decision was made to better coordinate the pandemic response between government ministries and staff, ensuring the right resources are the right place at the right time, and to provide administrative support so health care workers can focus on patients. Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab will still be responsible for public health recommendations and orders.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency’s PEOC has expertise in coordinating and deploying emergency resources, and is closely connected to national, provincial and territorial agencies to leverage support. The Provincial Command will also be able to coordinate interagency resources in Saskatchewan.

It will be led by a joint management team which includes the President of the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, Marlo Pritchard, the CEO of the Saskatchewan Health Authority, Scott Livingstone, and the Deputy Minister of Health, Max Hendricks.

The PEOC will also lead the dissemination of critical updates for the public and establish normalized briefings through media availability.

The Provincial Command will be in operation until the end of the emergency order which has been in place since September 13th.

During the news conference, Premier Scott Moe said those who are unvaccinated are prolonging the pandemic and are delaying other peoples’ surgeries. Moe told residents to “stop listening to all of the non-sense that is out there on social media.” and to instead get vaccinated.