Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) CEO Scott Livingstone announced Tuesday they will be strengthening screening and masking among healthcare works to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
鈥淭he reality is we don鈥檛 know what will happen, and we cannot move a single healthcare system our size overnight if suddenly something shifts for the worst,鈥� said Livingstone during a press conference.
Livingstone said that starting April 15, staff, physicians, learners, trainers, vendors and contractors will be screened daily as they enter any SHA facility or program area to ensure they do not have any influenza-like illness.
Additionally, all staff and physicians who work in patient, client and resident care areas or travel through those areas will be wearing a mask at all times.
鈥淭hese measures are about keeping our healthcare team safe and providing an additional layer of assurance to our patients, clients and residents who may be worrying about asymptomatic workers that may have been exposed to the virus,鈥� said Livingstone.
鈥淚t remains a daunting and uncertain time for all of us, and our healthcare teams are no exception,鈥� he added.
The additional screening measures will be phased in throughout SHA facilities including long-term care facilities and programs, hospitals, primary care sites and affiliates.
Livingstone said there are encouraging signs of how public distancing and the good work communities are doing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. He added they will be updating their models with new information as numbers for the virus continue to go down.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have a crystal ball. We don鈥檛 know what is going to happen next week. I think things are encouraging and as we move forward over the next week or two we will update models and share those,鈥� said Livingstone.
Livingstone said although the SHA announced they currently have a month supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), there is an offset with the number of masks being used. He said the SHA feels they do have enough masks not only for themselves bur for affiliates and other partners.
Livingstone added they are ordering four to six times the quantities they would normally order.
鈥淓veryday it changes with respect to what is coming in and what is not coming in. We have started to see a trickle of PPE come in from the federal government as per the allocations that they are working on,鈥� said Livingstone.
To date, there are currently 301 cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan. Of those, 187 have recovered, seven are in hospital and four have died from the virus.
Additionally, 34 of the cases are healthcare workers with 19 of them now recovered.
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