Sask. COVID-19 restrictions set to lapse Friday as downward trend continues

The U.S. is beginning to see a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images/CNN)

REGINA — Saskatchewan’s current COVID-19 restrictions will expire on Friday. The province is tasked with deciding whether to extend current restrictions or implement new ones.

Restrictions were last updated on Jan. 26, when the province announced restrictions would extended until Feb. 19.

Since then, Saskatchewan has mostly continued its downward trend, as shown by the decrease in the seven-day average of daily new cases.

SEVEN-DAY AVERAGE

On Jan. 26, Saskatchewan reported a seven-day average of 254 new cases, or 21 new cases per 100,000 residents.

On Feb. 14, Saskatchewan reported a seven-day average of 163 new cases, or 13.4 new cases per 100,000 residents – the lowest since New Year’s Eve.

ACTIVE CASES

There were 2,665 active COVID-19 cases in the province on Jan. 26. By Feb. 14 there were 1,864, a number the province has not seen since mid-November.

TESTING NUMBERS

In September 2020, Saskatchewan said it was working towards providing 4,000 tests per day and in an effort to increase the province’s testing capacity and that new rapid testing options were being added at health care facilities.

By February, the province had missed that mark every day except two, where the SHA tested more than 4,000 people on Nov. 21 and Nov. 30.

Since the start of 2021, Saskatchewan has averaged 2,601 tests per day, which is well short of the province’s target.

TEST POSITIVITY

Saskatchewan’s test positivity rate has been below nine per cent since Feb. 5. The test positivity over the past 10 days has been 7.25 per cent and 6.73 over the past seven days.

CURRENT PUBLIC HEALTH ORDER

The current COVID-19 restrictions limit private gatherings to five people, and all must reside in the same household. A single-person household can join a household of four or fewer, for a maximum of five attendees in total.

Indoor public gatherings are limited to 30 people, for events such as weddings, funerals, banquets or conferences.

Both private and public outdoor gatherings are limited to no more than 10 people.

Masks are mandatory in all indoor public spaces, province-wide. Visits to all long-term care and personal care homes are on hold, with exceptions made for compassionate reasons only.

At restaurants and bars, seating is limited to four people per table and establishments must take down contact information for each group.

All team and group sports, activities, games, recitals and practices are paused. This includes hockey, curling, cheerleading, dance and other sports. For children, groups of eight can still get together to practice or train.