The first day of Re-Open Saskatchewan saw the largest increase in reported COVID-19 cases in the province since the pandemic began.
There were 34 new cases of COVID-19 reported on Monday, the highest since the 33 cases reported on March 22.
In his daily update of COVID-19, Premier Scott Moe noted that while the numbers were concerning, it was a result of increased testing in that area.
The premier was later asked whether the spike in numbers gave him pause as to efforts to re-open the economy.
“It does give us pause in the area where these infections are occurring,” said Moe. And it was being paused in the community of La Loche, he added.
Moe noted that the rest of the province was "pretty quiet" for infections, so "we should be moving forward with out Re-Open Saskatchewan plan," noting it was limited to medical services including dentistry and obstetricians.
Of the 34 new cases, 29 are in the La Loche and surrounding area. There were also four new cases in the North region which includes the Battlefords, Prince Albert and Lloydminster.
“The case numbers from the rest of the province remain low, and that is entirely due to all the steps that have been taken to date,” said Dr. Saqib Shahab, chief medical health officer for the province.
Some further information was provided about the outbreaks currently going on in the North. Scott Livingstone, CEO of Saskatchewan Health Authority, noted that outbreak management ”remains the top priority.”
In the far north they have continued target screening with a focus on mobile testing as well as drive-thru testing. They will continue to expand their door to door screening, and Livingstone said they have deployed more resources in the region.
In Beauval they have an incident related to a positive case in a grocery store; they now estimate nine cases between Beauval, Buffalo Narrows, Ile-a-la-Crosse and testing is available at those areas.
There are 98 confirmed cases in the North and 76 directly related to La Loche. They continue to meet closely with community leaders.
From the outbreak at Victoria Hospital in Prince Albert, they still have only the one positive case to report with no new cases. There have been 91 health care workers identified as close contacts to that positive case. Livingstone noted the positive case was linked to La Loche. Seven patients currently in isolation never came in close contact with the positive case, but they have been screened and monitored and all are currently asymptomatic. A total of 46 of the health care workers who had minimal exposure have been tested and are asymptomatic.
In Lloydminster Hospital all health care workers identified as contacts are self-isolating. All non-COVID-19 patients will be transferred to other facilities. Emergency department, emergency surgery and obstetrical services remain in place at Lloydminster.
In the case of Lloydminster Premier Moe said it appears they were starting to get the outbreak there "to a much better place," he said, with the contact tracing and testing that was implemented immediately. He said they will have more discussion in the next few days on whether Lloydminster can "re-engage in the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan and at what point that would be appropriate."
Regarding the far north, Premier Moe told reporters at the news conference that we can expect to see a "more active role by the provincial government" in the next number of days, with eight self-isolation units arriving today and the school in La Loche is being outfitted for surge capacity.
Moe said there will also be an increased presence of conservation officers and forest fire suppression employees with the checkpoints, throughout the north but particulary in the northwest, in conjunction with community members at those checkpoints to limit travel between the communities to curb the spread of the virus.
On Tuesday, the SHA is scheduled to hold its weekly news conference where it is expected they will outline their plans to resume medical procedures.
