COVID-19 in Saskatchewan: The Week in Review, June 5

Patio beers and the chance to lose some pandemic pounds are right around the corner!

It’s month four of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it can be exhausting trying to track down all the information you need to know – especially with Phase 3 of the province’s reopening plan coming on Monday! That’s why 980 CJME has your back with the Week in Review, collecting all the most important things you need to know about the pandemic plan and what the virus is doing in the province all in one place. Plus we’ll leave you with a Week’s End Smile.

As the COVID-19 world stretches into month four, there seems to be a lot of daylight streaming through the reopening door to Saskatchewan. The outbreaks in the far north seem to be under control, and cases have slowed to a trickle province-wide. We’re in the best shape we’ve been in virus-wise since March when this all began!

Phase 3 of the “Re-Open Saskatchewan” plan kicks into effect on Monday, swinging open the doors to restaurants, gyms, places of worship and daycares. You can go visit your grandparents and sick loved ones again, and we have an idea of when kids will get to do something this summer!

On top of all that, we’ve got an idea for how to spend your weekend in Central Saskatchewan, some #SquadGoals from a group of 100+-year-old ladies, and the story of a kid who got to dance in front of some pretty famous judges.

There’s a lot to talk about, so let’s get to it.

The numbers

We now have fewer active COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan than the number of people that will be allowed to gather together outside as of Monday!

It was a good week on most fronts for Saskatchewan and the coronavirus. The province didn’t report more than one new case on each day, and we even saw a day with ZERO new cases.

As of Friday, there was also just one person hospitalized in an ICU in Saskatoon. That’s the fewest hospitalizations in about 2.5 months.

Unfortunately one person did die of the virus, a person from the north in their 70s. It marked the province’s 11th death.

The far north got some good news. Beauval’s outbreak was declared over, while La Loche has brought their cases under control so well that they’ll be allowed to get Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the provincial reopening plan going on Monday.

Lloydminster’s hospital outbreak also ended on the weekend!

This week’s numbers:

• 649 total cases
• 611 recoveries
• 11 deaths
• 27 active cases
• 0 in-patient hospitalizations
• 1 person in ICU

Reopening Saskatchewan

We’re just days away from patio season in Saskatchewan! And once you’ve had a restaurant meal and patio brew, the province says you can go to the gym and work it off.

Phase 3 of the “Re-Open Saskatchewan” plan begins Monday, allowing restaurants, gyms and childcare to open at 50 per cent capacity. Places of worship will also be allowed to open their doors.

Here are the rules you need to know about each of them:

Restaurants

• Only 50 per cent capacity allowed
• Tables should be two metres apart
• Only up to six people per table. Larger dining groups will have to sit at separate tables with the appropriate physical distancing
• Booths that can’t be separated need a physical barrier to separate customers
• Provincial government is recommending restaurants go by reservation only, but that’s not mandatory
• Servers who can’t keep two metres distance with customers are told to wear a surgical mask
• No dance floors, VLTs, play areas, pool tables, dartboards, pinball machines or karaoke allowed
• No live entertainment, including bands and DJs

Childcare

• 15 kids allowed per room/space
• Larger facilities have to keep kids and staff in separate groups, which have to stay together in the same space all day — including for pick-ups and drop-offs
• Staff will minimize physical contact between kids
• No sharing food, drinks, sippy cups. Staff are being told to label each kid’s personal belongings
• Kids with any illness aren’t allowed to go to childcare

Gyms

• Allowed at 50 per cent capacity
• No access if a staff member isn’t present (24-hour gyms with fob access aren’t allowed right now)
• Workouts by appointment only are recommended
• Equipment will be two metres apart, or will have physical barriers in between
• Equipment should be cleaned between each use
• No group classes, sport courts, hot tubs, steam rooms, saunas
• No showers or locker rooms allowed to open

Places of worship

• One-third capacity allowed, or a maximum of 30 people
• Registering for a service is encouraged to help keep track of how many people are coming
• Two metre distancing between households attending. People from the same household can sit together, but should stay put once seated
• No handshakes or passing of items
• Singing isn’t recommended due to high transmission risk, but it isn’t banned
• If there is singing, everyone singing has to wear a mask
• No common cup allowed for communion. Province advises “extreme caution” for any communion ritual.
• No food and beverage service
• If there are several services in a day, they have to be staggered to allow each service to leave and enter without interacting with each other

The other big change on Monday will be how many people can gather in any one spot. Phase 3 will allow indoor gatherings of up to 15 people, and outdoor gatherings up to 30 people. However, Dr. Shahab is reminding us all we should still stay two metres apart and not share food.

On top of all that, we can now go see grandma and grandpa! The Saskatchewan Health Authority majorly relaxed their rules around visiting loved ones at long term care homes, effective immediately.

The new rules allow:

• Outdoor visits with more than one person, with masks required
• A designated family member or caregiver to help with daily needs that staff can’t provide (like comfort)
• Up to two family members can be designated for compassionate care, but only one is allowed in at a time

The rules also relaxed to allow a family member into hospitals for people in intensive care, the maternity ward, or to be with someone about to undergo major surgery.

A LOT of parents are asking “what about the kids???” Well, we know a little bit more about when they’ll be able to have fun again.

Dr. Shahab says they’re working on splitting Phase 4 into two stages, with the first stage including day camps, outdoor pools and spray parks. So maybe kids will get to do something this summer.

The second part of Phase 4 will include indoor pools, indoor rinks, libraries, museums, galleries, movie theatres, casinos and bingo halls.

There’s no date for either stage.

The bad news is Shahab isn’t expecting the fifth and final phase of reopening to happen until June 2021. That’s the phase that could lift the lid on gathering sizes, allowing for sports with fans, concerts and other festivals.

Rallies in Regina and Saskatoon

Thousands of people in Regina and in Saskatoon gathered on the steps of the Legislature and in front of Saskatoon’s police headquarters this week, looking to raise awareness and effect change following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

In Saskatoon, police say about four thousand people attended as protesters peacefully marched from police headquarters into the downtown area towards City Hall.

On Tuesday, in Regina, protesters stood and chanted in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, while many others said they attended to show that communities care about systemic racism. Another rally was also held Friday afternoon, with protesters marching from the Royal Saskatchewan Museum on Albert Street, to the Legislature.

Upon hearing of the large rallies, the province’s Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, and Premier Scott Moe warned that those attending the rallies are at a greater risk of contracting COVID-19, and urged them to not only wear masks, but to take physical distancing seriously.

Sarcan’s June 15 Opening

While we can’t yet take our bags and bags of bottles and cans back to SARCAN just yet, the time is coming.

Nearly three months after it closed its locations to the public, plans are in the works to keep the public and staff safe as the facilities re-open.

It looks like there will be a couple of options including the traditional ‘wait in line and have your bottles counted’ way, OR, there will be another option to simply drop off your recyclables and get paid electronically. A ‘drop and go’ method, if you will.

Good news and helping hands

You know who will be happy about these new visiting guidelines? The 100-year club in Langenburg. Six ladies who are all over 100 years old who hang out together in quarantine. There’s a lot of wisdom in that group!

There’s actually something for people to do this weekend! With a lot of events cancelled, it’s hard to figure out how to spend a weekend. But SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon is trying to help with a pop-up drive-in theatre. It’s going to show a whole bunch of new and old movies, along with the latest pay-per-view UFC event.

Having people stuck in their homes and playing more video games has been great for a Saskatoon video game developer. Michael Long’s “Radio General,” ended up at the top of international gaming platform Steam’s new and trending section. The best part is the game is all about Canada’s role in the Second World War, so all those gamers are getting a great education while having fun!

Sports fans rejoice! Nobody will be in the stands, but the NBA is officially back in business! The Raptors will restart their quest for a second-straight championship in late July as part of a 22-team comeback at Disney in Florida.

Cancellations and general bummers

The sweet twang of country music won’t be echoing through the Qu’Appelle Valley this summer. Country Thunder in Craven was axed after the organizers held on as long as they could to the summer staple.

And you won’t be able to comfort yourself over missing Craven with midway food either. Regina’s Queen City Ex was also nixed for 2020.

Foodies in Saskatoon are disappointed too. The annual Food Truck Wars won’t be waged this year, meaning no food truck will stand above the others on a ketchup-soaked battlefield for the taste buds.

And here’s a *potential* bummer for homeowners: A national housing group is expecting prices to plummet by up to 18 per cent over the rest of 2020. The good news though? Saskatchewan’s local home builders think the numbers are more extreme than what will actually happen.

Week’s End Smile

Learned any sick dance moves in your living room during the lockdown? A Warman teen already had some smooth grooves. So smooth, his dance crew ended up performing in front of Jennifer Lopez on NBC’s World of Dance! He can’t tell us if he made it through, so we’ll just have to keep watching.