Here are some highlights from the latest COVID-19 news conference in Regina on Tuesday afternoon, attended by health minister Paul Merriman and chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab:
Merriman thanked everyone for following the guidelines during the holiday season and acknowledged it would be a different Christmas for families across the province.
“I know this is not the Christmas that we all wanted to be spending together,” said Merriman.
He noted Christmas is usually a time for families to gather together, with some travelling long distances to be with their families. He noted large household gatherings at Christmas will almost certainly result in a spike in cases.
He urged people to stick to their own households, to connect online, visit outdoors if they could not, and to have a quiet Christmas.
“2021 will be a much better year, as we get more of our population vaccinated and life gets back to normal.”
The latest measures and restrictions announced by the province appear to be working in slowing down the transmission of COVID-19. It was noted the seven-day average of daily cases was down to 217 per day, down from 263 last week.
“What we are doing is making a difference,” Merriman said. “Our case numbers, while still higher than we would like, have started to drop... what we are doing is working, but we have to keep doing it.“
“Really the credit goes to everyone in Saskatchewan,” said Dr. Shahab of the numbers. “Everything has been calmed down and slowed down, and our numbers are showing that.”
Regarding the vaccine rollout, as of Monday 1,519 vaccinations have been completed at Regina General Hospital and they should be finished the initial delivery of 1,950 doses later this week.
Yesterday, they received their additional 1,950 doses of the Pfizer vaccine. That will provide the second shot for those who received their first shot, which means in the new year they will have their first residents of Saskatchewan fully vaccinated.
Merriman also reported that yesterday 3,900 doses were delivered to Merlis Belcher Place in Saskatoon where the first and second shots will take place of 1,950 Saskatoon health care workers. More doses will arrive next week for a further 487 health care workers and be administered within three to four weeks.
Merriman noted at the news conference that in fact the first shots are happening in Saskatoon “as we speak.”
Another 3,900 doses of the Pfizer vaccine are being delivered to Prince Albert the week of Jan. 4 and then regular weekly deliveries will happen after that.
More vaccines are on the horizon. Merriman said they expect approval of the Moderna vaccine this week by the federal government. Shipments will begin immediately after that, and the Moderna vaccine will be given to the residents and staff of long term care homes and personal care homes. Planning is already well under way for these next allocations, said Merriman.
As soon as the vaccines arrive, they will be administered as quickly and efficiently as possible, he said.
There have been concerns as of late about the new and more virulent United Kingdom strain of COVID-19 that has circulated there, and whether it might make its way to Canada.
When asked whether Saskatchewan would be able to test for that strain, Dr. Shahab confirmed their Roy Romanow provincial lab can process samples as well as screening, both in Saskatchewan and in the national microbiology laboratory, of any case that may have been linked to travel from the United Kingdom.
So far there is no evidence of that strain in Saskatchewan or Canada, Dr. Shahab said, but they will continue to monitor.
Dr. Shahab said they routinely follow up with their Sask. Public Safety Agency on all travellers who come to Canada including from the U.K., and they have a “very robust”system in place to check for any risk or implications from the U.K. as well.
Although there was concern about the U.K. strain, Dr. Shahab said there “is no change to what we need to do” including sticking to households, maintaining physical distancing and hand washing, and there is no impact on the vaccine, either.
