SASKATOON - Saskatoon City Council, to protect the health and safety of the community, has approved COVID-19 health measures requiring residents to have a proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test within 72 hours to access all leisure centre areas and the city’s indoor rinks. The new measure will begin on Oct. 15 and will be mandatory to everyone ages 12 and up.
The council approved the new COVID health guidelines at its Friday meeting as an added safety measure to complement the Provincial Public Health Order, reduce confusion for customers, and address the increasing spread of COVID-19 in the community. The health order took effect last Oct. 1 and it applies to individuals over the age of 12.
The health order requires the public proof of full vaccination or negative COVID-19 test and ID for public access to a list of establishments, businesses and event venues, including indoor fitness centres and gyms.
An initial review of the PHO determined that proof of vaccination or negative test was required to access dryland areas within the city’s leisure centres such as fitness and weight rooms, gymnasiums, sports courts and tracks, land fitness classes, and meeting and multi-purpose rooms.
The PHO did not apply to aquatic areas and programs, private gatherings held at public venues (e.g. private rentals of meeting and multi-purpose rooms) and indoor arenas.
The complexity and size of the city’s multi-use Leisure Centres created a challenge to apply the PHO, as there are many shared areas and access to multiple spaces beyond the point of entry where vaccination or test status is being confirmed by Commissionaires.
The PHO applies to some programs and services within the facilities and not others, creating challenges for staff and confusion for residents and customers accessing programs and services. The overall impact to COVID-19 safety of the whole facility is not being fully realized as a result.
The Provincial Business Response Team suggested that multi-use facilities containing an aquatic facility should require all patrons to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to gain entry.
Additionally, indoor rinks are not specifically identified in the Public Health Order which has resulted in a range of treatments across the city. Council’s decision aligns the city’s indoor rinks with the best practices being conducted on a local level.
Council’s decision will ensure that all visitors to Leisure Centres and indoor arenas will need to comply with the requirement to create a safer atmosphere for all. The city will include the new requirements in future rental contracts for all user groups accessing Leisure Centers and indoor arenas.
It is important to note that this requirement does not apply to any public members directly accessing the Saskatoon Public Library locations located within Leisure Centres. Libraries do not require the public to show proof of vaccination or negative test to enter their facilities under the current Public Health Order. Separate directional barriers will be in place for libraries that are located inside Leisure Centres.
Proof of Full Vaccination
As a reminder, acceptable forms of proof of full vaccination, to be provided along with photo ID, are: Wallet cards received at time of immunization,
- A printed copy of your vaccine certificate (with or without a QR code) or a ‘screenshot’ of your vaccine certificate (with or without a QR code) saved to your device
- A COVID-19 vaccine printout from Saskatchewan Health Authority Public Health
- A QR code/MySaskHealthRecord vaccine certificate uploaded to SK Vax Wallet app which will is available free from Google Play or Apple App stores
- Official proof of vaccine documents from other governments
Proof of Negative Test
Individuals who do not have proof of vaccination have the option of providing proof of a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result from within the previous 72 hours.
This test is to be done at the expense of the individual; . Self-administered take-home rapid antigen tests (e.g. pictures of negative tests) will not be accepted as valid proof of negative COVID-19 test results.
