Province Declares State Of Emergency As First Presumptive Case In Moose Jaw
With the provincial numbers of presumptive and confirmed cases of Covid - 19 doubling from 8 - 16 in a single day, including a presumptive case in Moose Jaw, the Province of Saskatchewan has officially declared a provincial State of Emergency.
By declaring a state of emergency it grants the Province additional broad powers to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Measures include the ability to limit travel to or from a community or region of the province and directing that property or equipment be deployed to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
Covid - 19 is a Novel Coronavirus which originated in Wuhan, China and has infected tens of thousands as well as killing thousands worldwide.
The fast spreading coronavirus jumped from an animal to a human and then mutated to human to human transmission. It was recently declared a worldwide pandemic which means the coronavirus is now crossing multiple international borders and infecting larger numbers of people.
As part of the State of Emergencey the Province has declared further measures to help combat the spread of COVID - 19.
The following measures are effective immediately:
Public gatherings larger than 50 people are prohibited.
All restaurants, bars and event venues must limit their seating to 50 per cent of capacity or up to a maximum of fifty people, whichever is lesser. All must be able to ensure social distance of one to two metres between customers. Retail spaces including grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations are exempted from this policy but must have processes to maintain a one to two metre separation.
All gyms, fitness centres, casinos and bingo halls are ordered to close until further notice.
Residents are advised to limit any non-essential travel outside of Saskatchewan, with the exception of people who live in border communities and are commuting for work.
Any licensed restaurants and taverns in Saskatchewan will be permitted to sell alcohol as an offsale according to SLGA regulations indefinitely.
All crown utilities will implement bill-deferral programs allowing a zero-interest bill deferral for up to six months for Saskatchewan residents whose ability to make bill payments may be impacted by the COVID-19 restrictions.
All Government of Saskatchewan ministries, agencies and Crown corporations will implement a phased-in work from home policy effective Monday, March 23, applicable to employees deemed non-essential. This means that any employees able to work from home should do so immediately, while providing managers a period to plan for work-force continuity.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) will be discontinuing all non-urgent/elective surgeries, procedures and diagnostics as of March 23. This action will allow the SHA the ability to redeploy nurses and other staff and ensure medical supplies and personal protective equipment are available when needed and reduce risk of further exposure to our care providers and patients.
The SHA will continue to provide services to patients who require emergent and urgent care. Cancer, urgent and emergent surgeries will continue as planned. Patients will be contacted regarding their scheduled service.
In a press release the Saskatchewan Provincial Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab advised people to stay home whenever possible especially if just mildly sick.
“This is a critical time for all individuals and organizations to ensure that they are practicing social distancing, staying home whenever possible and absolutely staying home when you are ill, even with mild symptoms,” Dr. Saqib Shahab said. “We have an instance where the contact investigation has not yet demonstrated a link to travel, which could signal local transmission. We will also see more cases linked to travel within Canada. Limit all non-essential travel at this time as part of the provincial and national effort to prevent transmission.”
Provincial Utilities Helping Out
To help people out who cannot pay their bills because of COVID - 19 SaskPower and SaskEnergy will no longer be actively seeking collections and will not be disconnecting power or gas customers.
SaskPower will also be re-conneciting customers who have been disconected or have load limitiers due to paying their bills.
“The health and safety of our employees and customers is SaskPower’s top priority,” Shawn Schmidt, SaskPower Vice-President, Distribution and Customer Services said in a statement. “We know the impact of the current pandemic can affect household finances, and that is why we are taking these measures today.”
Any SaskPower customers who are concerned about their ability to pay their bills because of COVID-19 are encouraged to call 1-888-575-6937. Customers whose power has already been disconnected or who currently have a load limiter on their residence can also call to be reconnected or have the limiter removed.
Customers are reminded the bills will have to be paid at a later date.
Click here for more information
Spending Estimates Only Because Of Covid - 19
Today, March 18th, was suppose to be Budget Day but due to the still unknown impact of COVID - 19 on the economy the Province only tabled spending estimates and no revenue stream in the Legislature.
The 2020-21 Estimates represent $14.15 billion of government expense through ministries and agencies, an increase of 3.1 per cent from 2019-20, which include important investments and spending increases in health care, education, social services and infrastructure.
“This is an unprecedented and challenging time in our province, our country and the world,” finance minister Donna Harpauer said in a statement. “We are all feeling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and our government’s first priority is the safety and health of Saskatchewan people. That is precisely why we need to proceed with these expenditures now, providing stability and much needed new spending at the start of the fiscal year. It is particularly important our health care funding flows and our infrastructure investment is in place to help our economy.
“We have a very strong cash position of $1.3 billion, so we are well positioned to manage through this challenging time, and are able to provide additional resources to address the health and economic challenges of COVID-19 as required,” Minister Harpauer said.
Federal Government Stepping In
For people and businesses who are impacted by COVID - 19 the federal government today announced a series of economic measures to help out.
The new set of economic measures to help stabilize the economy during this challenging period. These measures, delivered as part of the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, will provide up to $27 billion in direct support to Canadian workers and businesses.
For more information click here.
Additionally the federal government has the following web-page with helpful links about not only preventing the further spread of COVID - 19 but also travel information and what they are doing to protect Canada’s economy.
To access the page click here.
COVID-19 Information Online
Starting today, residents can go to www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19 for the latest information reorganized to make it easy for residents to find what they need. It includes information on travel guidance and preventative measures as well as information for care providers.
Unsure of your symptoms?
Visit www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19 and use the self-assessment tool to determine if you should contact HealthLine 811.
Note that any use of the former URL will redirect residents to the new site. Public inquiries may be directed to COVID19@health.gov.sk.ca.