Saskatoon city council brings back mandatory masks

The days of no masks are coming to an end in Saskatoon.

On Monday, city council voted to reintroduce mandatory masks on city transit buses and civic facilities starting Wednesday.

“Masks make a difference,” Pamela Goulden-McLeod, director of Saskatoon’s Emergency Management Organization, said in a release.

“As we approach the busy fall and the back-to-school activities season, it is important that we rally together to help support our health-care system. We need to do all we can to protect those who cannot be vaccinated such as children under age 12 and anyone with a health condition where vaccination is not an option.”

City council also supported mandatory rapid testing for city employees, regardless of vaccination status. Testing would begin in mid-September.

Council debated for more than four hours, but ended the meeting without a vaccine policy for city staff and civic facilities.  Instead, it instructed the administration to investigate a potential policy.

Saskatoon’s fourth wave

Dr. Jasmine Hasselback , the medical health officer for the Saskatoon area, provided a situational update to help enhance understanding of Saskatoon’s “local reality” during city council’s regular business meeting Monday.

“Saskatoon is at a concerning point,” Hasselback said.

In her presentation, Hasselback explained how this fourth wave in Saskatoon is different than previous waves of the pandemic — specifically due to the clear dominance of variants in COVID-19 cases during the fourth wave, no legally enforceable public health orders in effect, high population mixing and a partially immunized population.

Over the weekend, Saskatchewan reported nearly 900 new cases of COVID-19, with Saskatoon reporting about 200 cases over Saturday and Sunday. Hasselback reported a 10.5 per cent test positivity rate and said anything in the 10 or higher range is “when we get worried.”

“Hospitals are struggling, to say the least,” Hasselback said, noting the current fourth wave is now competing with the third wave in terms of exhaustion facing health-care workers.

When asked about residents being turned away due to a shortage of ICU beds, Hasselback said these conversations are once again coming up. She said it has been something that has happened throughout the pandemic, calling it some “impressive reduction.”

Cases in the Saskatoon area are increasing in the 18-to-29 age group, with most cases unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated. More cases are also appearing in young children of daycare or school age — much more than previously, according to the medical health officer.

While those individuals are not severely ill, Hasselback noted the implications these illnesses have on families, daycares, schools and other aspects of life, with the start of school still anticipated later this week.

Hasselback noted in her presentation to council that there have been no deaths reported of fully vaccinated people in the province.

When examining the viral load reported in wastewater data, Hasselback noted a 45 per cent increase in the past week, adding to the 348 per cent increase the week prior in viral RNA.

No specific activities or events are responsible for the significant increases in Saskatoon’s rising case numbers, although there have been positive effects seen in long-term care homes due to vaccinations, Hasselback said. However, increased social and entertainment gatherings have led to increased cases in the city.

More than half a million Saskatchewan residents are still not double vaccinated, with the lowest coverage currently for children and young adults.

Hasselback recommended a multi-faceted approach to vaccine hesitancy in Saskatoon to get the city’s population to the 85 per cent vaccination target. Currently, the city sits at 68 per cent of residents fully vaccinated.

Actions that can be taken include a core focus on promoting immunization, as fully vaccinated individuals are about 66 per cent less likely to become infected with the virus and between 80 and 90 per cent less likely to get sick, Hasselback explained.

Masking when not at home, cohorts, increasing time at home — including resuming work-from-home measures — and implementing proof of vaccination protocols for individuals to access certain settings and activities were also recommended by the medical officer to council Monday.

When asked about the legal authority Hasselback has as a medical health officer, she clarified she is under the authority of the Public Health Act, which provides her with some unique abilities but ultimately does not leave her with the authority to implement any widespread health orders that span beyond an individual.

Hasselback said she is not on the city’s payroll but can be an asset to the city in dealing with public health concerns like COVID-19 as an “independent scientific source.”