It鈥檚 likely time to set aside any notion that this COVID-19 fight will be over soon.
We are still in it for the long haul.
And rather than send out some false signals that this will all be over soon because vaccines are on the way, it might be better if our politicians were straight with us.
Right now, for Premier Scott Moe and his Saskatchewan Party government, that likely means an honest admission that lifting current restrictions on gatherings and events at Christmas would be highly unwise.
Of course, that鈥檚 not what anyone wants to hear and politicians are disinclined to tell people what they don鈥檛 want to hear.
But this COVID-19 fight tells us that we need to reassess our priorities.
By all measures, it鈥檚 getting worse. Consider the numbers:
From Nov. 22-29, Saskatchewan saw 1,766 new cases 鈥� an average of 252 new cases a day. During the previous week of Nov. 15-22, the province saw 1,472 new cases 鈥� an average of 210 new cases a day. The previous week (Nov. 8-15) it was 1,104 cases or 158 a day. The week before that (Nov. 1-8), Saskatchewan had 697 new cases or an average of 97 a day.
Accompanying the rising case numbers was a doubling of Saskatchewan deaths in November from the total accumulated in seven months. And with record hospitalizations, more will happen.
It鈥檚 not has if the government wasn鈥檛 warned. During a press conference on Nov. 20, it released 鈥渕odelling numbers,鈥� the government unveiled a series of possible scenarios.
The worst case showed a nightmare scenario of 469,000 COVID-19 cases (8,390 a day) in the next six months producing 4,800 deaths 鈥� numbers most agreed to be unrealistically high because they represent an infection rate unseen anywhere in the world.
However, the best-case scenario suggested we would see only 4,800 more cases in the next six months if we adhered to stricter mask-wearing everywhere in the province and strict limits on household contacts.
After Nov. 20, we added about 2,400 cases 鈥� half the best case scenario 鈥� in just 10 days.
Yet while the government did call the COVID-19 fight its priority in its throne speech, it included a call for SaskPower to 鈥渞educe electricity charges by 10 per cent for one year." Also, its first bill was to make good on its election promise to implement a Saskatchewan Home Renovation Tax Credit 鈥� a 10.5 per cent tax credit on up to $20,000 of eligible home renovation expenses incurred between Oct. 1, 2020 and Dec. 21, 2022.
One can understand and somewhat respect the determination of Moe to make good on the popular promises that got the Sask. Party re-elected.
One also gets Moe鈥檚 determination not to lockdown the province, as has pretty much happened in neighbouring Manitoba.
Moe insists that the incremental measures already taken can stop the spread of the virus. As stated in the throne speech: "We can, and will, do both."
But the simple reality is that what we鈥檙e doing right now hasn鈥檛 been working.
Right now trying to do both isn鈥檛 stopping rising number. Quite likely, we are going to have to do a lot more of what we don鈥檛 like.
We have to be realistic.
