COVID - 19 Variants Being Watched Closely By Leadership Team

By Robert Thomas

With recent increasing numbers of people in Regina contracting COVID - 19 Variants Of Concern (VOC) the City of Moose Jaw is paying attention what is happening just 45 minutes east of the city.

Speaking at Tuesday mornings media scrum city manager Jim Puffalt said the COVID - 19 strategic leadership team is continuing to meet on a bi-weekly basis and the issue of VOC spread is on their radar. Previously at the outbreak of the pandemic - approximately a year ago - the team met sometimes twice daily.

“We are certainly watching that very closely,” Puffalt said in a question from MJ Independent.

The rise of people contracting VOC COVID - 19 has lead to the City slowing down some of the changes they were contemplating as the local rate had been dropping.

“We were starting to (think about) and opening up (City Hall for more hours),” he said, adding the rising numbers in Regina and VOCs have placed those plans on hold. Presently City Hall is only open to the public from 11 am to 3 pm Monday to Friday.

As of March 22nd 60 out of the 63 active cases in the south central region are in Moose Jaw and the local area. Of those cases at least 39 assumptive VOC cases are in Moose Jaw and the immediate area.

VOCs are when the original virus has mutated. The mutations so far have made the coronavirus causing COVID - 19 more communicable between humans.

“The best bet we can do is to carrying on (with precautions)…we continue to do that in the Council meetings….so we have been very concerned,” Puffalt said.

“Variants come because people are not following the Sask Health rules,” he said.

So far there has only been one City employee at City Hall with a confirmed case of COVID - 19 something Puffalt attributed to the strong measures taken by the City.

“We have to be very careful and vigilant and not take any chances.”

Puffalt also pointed to the on-going vaccinations and the need to obtain herd immunity once a sufficient number of people are vaccinated as the way out of the restrictions.

UPDATE - As of March 23rd 56 confirmed VOC cases have been detected by screening in the South Central region which includes Moose Jaw.

Presently there are 52 active COVID - 19 active cases in the South Central region with 48 cases in Moose Jaw and immediate area.