It’s official: the Grinch has stolen Christmas.
That is surely what many Saskatchewan residents must be feeling after the province of Saskatchewan announced even more public health orders which, along with existing orders, will be in effect until at least Jan. 15, 2021.
The measures were announced by Premier Scott Moe and chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab at their latest COVID-19 news conference Monday. Most notably, the measures announced Monday include new indoor restrictions that put a damper on any hopes that families might be able to gather in larger numbers for Christmas. Private gatherings are being limited to the immediate household only, among the measures announced.
"It's a little bit of Buckley's -- it doesn't taste very good," said Moe of the measures. But Moe said it was "absolutely necessary" to preserve the capacity in the health care system and the economic activities and jobs in communities, as well as to recover from the pandemic.
"I know it's a bitter pill for Saskatchewan families. I was hopeful that we were going to reduce the curve even more, reduce the rate of infection even more than we have. We haven't been able to do that."
Here is a rundown of the most notable measures taking effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 17:
Private, indoor gatherings are limited to immediate household members only. Single individuals are permitted to meet with one consistent household of less than five individuals. Co-parenting arrangements are permitted, as are caregivers and support services in the home are permitted to continue.
For outdoor gatherings, you may meet and greet outdoors with up to 10 people only, provided physical distancing between households can be maintained.
The following measures take effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday Dec. 19:
Casinos and bingo halls must close.
Personal services including hairdresser/barber, esthetics, massage therapy, acupuncture, tattooing, etc.Ìý go down to 50 per cent capacity, including staff and clients.
Event venues, conference facilities, arenas, arts venues, museums, movie and live theatres and banquet facilities can still hold events up to 30 individuals, but all guests must be seated for the duration. Food and drink are not permitted, unless explicitly stated in the order.
The guidance for weddings and funeral ceremonies and places of worship is 30 individuals only.Ìý Concurrent services may not occur within multiple locations within one facility.
At 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 25 these measures take effect:
Retail services must reduce capacity to 50 per cent. Large retail with square footage larger than 20,000 square feet must limit their capacity to 25 per cent.
In addition, existing public health orders for licensed establishments, sports, fitness and dance, places of worship, and mandatory masking remain in place. It is recommended that one person do the shopping, and all non-essential interprovincial travel is discouraged.
In his remarks Premier Moe noted it had been a difficult few weeks and months.
"I think it's safe to say we are all tired of this," said Moe. But the premier added "we have a few more miles to travel and we need to see this through together."
In his remarks Dr. Shahab noted that new case numbers were hovering between the 250-300 mark daily. They weren't going up, as much as modeling had predicted. The Nov. 27 public health order was having an impact on new cases, he said.
But "they're not going down as quickly as we would like to see them," said Dr. Shahab.Ìý
He said the latest orders would allow many of the activities of the holiday season to continue, but said over the holidays "we really need to be cautious." He particularly noted transmission was being seen in household settings.Ìý
Moe also praised the work of Dr. Shahab and again denounced the comments made towards him at a rally in Regina on the weekend, which he called "racist."
"These comments are foolish and they should never be made, and quite frankly, they are nothing short of idiotic," said Moe.
Moe also commended Shahab's credentials and said he "didn't have to come to Saskatchewan, and he is among the very best providing the very best public health advice that any province could ask for."Ìý
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