Six more cases of COVID-19 in Sask.; total now 26

An individual in their 20s who was tested in Regina following travel to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico;
An individual in their 20s who was tested in Regina following travel in the U.S.;
A person in their 50s who was tested in Regina following travel to Jordan;
Two people in their 60s who were tested in Prince Albert following travel from Arizona;
An individual in their 60s who was tested in Regina.

Public health officials are completing contact investigations on all cases.

At a media conference Friday afternoon, Dr. Saqib Shahab — the province’s chief medical health officer — updated the public health order he had issued earlier in response to the pandemic.

Effective immediately:

Public gatherings of more than 25 people in one room are prohibited except where two-metre distancing between people can be maintained; workplace and meeting settings where people are distributed into multiple rooms or buildings; and retail locations (ie. grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations);
All nightclubs, bars, lounges and similar facilities are closed. Alcohol or food products can be taken out, with two-metre distancing between customers and the delivery of alcohol or food products;
In-person classes in all primary and secondary educational institutions, both public and private, are suspended;
Visitors to long-term care homes, hospitals, personal care homes and group homes is restricted to family visiting for compassionate reasons;
Everyone who has travelled internationally shall go into mandatory self-isolation for 14 days from the date of their arrival back into Canada;
Health-care workers who have travelled internationally, as well as truckers, rail, airline or other working crews are exempt from this advisory only if they’re required to work to maintain essential services, provide emergency health-care services and maintain a supply chain, and are supervised by Infection, Prevention Control Officers and/or Occupational Health and Safety in the workplace
Everyone who has been identified by a medical health officer as a close contact of someone with COVID-19 shall go into mandatory self-isolation for 14 days from the date of last having been exposed to COVID-19;
Everyone who has become symptomatic while on mandatory self-isolation shall call HealthLine 811 and follow its directives;
All people who are household members of a person having laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 shall immediately go into mandatory self-isolation, call HealthLine 811 and follow HealthLine’s directives.

Starting Monday:

Restaurants, food courts, cafeterias, cafes, bistros and similar facilities will close. Exceptions are takeout with two-metre distancing between customers during pickup; drive-through food services; delivery of food products; and soup kitchens, not-for-profit community kitchens and religious kitchens with two-metre distancing between tables;
All recreational and entertainment facilities including fitness centres, casinos, bingo halls, arenas, curling rinks, swimming pools, galleries, theatres, museums and similar facilities will close;
All personal-service facilities including tattooists, hairdressers, barbers, acupuncturists, acupressurists, cosmetologists, electrologists, estheticians, manicurists, pedicurists, suntanning parlours, relaxation masseuses, and facilities in which body piercing, bone grafting or scarification services will close;
Dental, optometrist, chiropractic, registered massage therapy and podiatry clinics except for non-elective procedures will close;
Daycare facilities will be limited to a maximum of eight children unless they can configure the facility so that a maximum of eight children are kept in a room and be in accordance with the Saskatchewan child care guidelines for care; and,
Daycares that are co-located with long-term care or personal care homes that meet the above restriction shall be segregated with a private entrance so that there are no shared common areas with the home and no interaction between daycare children and residents of the facility.

Premier Scott Moe made the order stick, signing an order that gives law enforcement agencies in the province the power to enforce the orders. A ‘civil emergency’ alert issued through SaskAlert on Friday afternoon said violation of the order for all travelers returning from outside of Canada to self isolate for 14 days could result in a fine of $2,000.

“I know that the vast majority of Saskatchewan people are taking their personal responsibility seriously and following this order,” Moe said in the release. “But a few are not.

“This is not a suggestion. It is not a guideline. It is the law and it must be followed.”

SHA In-hospital Lab Collection sites closing

With the ongoing escalation of COVID-19 activities, the Saskatchewan Health Authority, Laboratory Medicine Provincial Program is closing in-hospital lab collection sites to ensure that staff and resources are being prioritized effectively.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority will close the following in-hospital collection sites effective Monday March 23, 2020 at 7:00 a.m.:

• General Hospital, Regina

• Pasqua Hospital, Regina

• Wascana Rehab Centre, Regina

• Royal University Hospital, Saskatoon

• St. Paul’s Hospital, Saskatoon

• Victoria Hospital, Prince Albert

• Battleford Union Hospital, North Battleford

• F.H. Wigmore Hospital, Moose Jaw

• Lloydminster Hospital

Patients can access a community collection site as identified below:

• Patients in Regina and Saskatoon are being directed to a LifeLabs location

• Patients in Prince Albert are being directed to the South Hill Mall,

• Patients in North Battleford will be directed to the Frontier Mall

• Patients in Moose Jaw are being directed to the Crescent View Clinic

• Patients in Lloydminster are being directed to go to the Dynacare location

All other SHA Laboratory locations for phlebotomy collection access will remain open, unless otherwise communicated; all site service disruptions are updated for patients viewing daily on the following website:

https://www.saskhealthauthority.ca/news/service-alerts-emergency-events

More to come.

by CJME News Staff

Six more cases of COVID-19 in Sask.; total now 26

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