Sask. to make COVID-19 projections, models public

EXTENDED: Sask. update on COVID-19 cases WATCH: Saskatchewan health officials spoke to reporters after the province surpassed 200 COVID-19 cases.

REGINA — The premier of Saskatchewan announced that the government will be sharing more information about its fight against COVID-19 starting next week.

Speaking on Thursday afternoon, Premier Scott Moe said the Saskatchewan Health Authority will start providing a public briefing on its models and projections relating to COVID-19.

“The more information that we are able to provide to the people of Saskatchewan, the better informed we will all be as our province works to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” said Moe.

Moe said he and the Minister of Health have asked the Saskatchewan Health Authority to provide public briefings that will include models and projections of the spread of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan and an update on the steps the province’s health system is taking to expand its capacity.

With projections coming from sources within the province and across the country, Moe said the scenarios presented will vary. How communities have reacted to physical distancing measure and population density factor into the severity level of these projections.

“There are so many factors that impact these projections,” said Moe. “Each of these factors and many more affect the outcome of this modelling and that is why it is so difficult for us to do modelling and to predict cases with any degree of certainty, so I expect that we will see a range.”

Moe said these public briefings will also help people understand the potential responses from the province, depending on how COVID-19 cases and hospitalization numbers progresses.