COVID-19 updates for Saskatoon and area for Wednesday, April 1

Another Sask. COVID-19 death From CTV Saskatoon's Laura Woodward: The province announced today that a third person has died after contracting the virus.

SASKATOON — Check back throughout the day for the latest on COVID-19 in Saskatoon and area.

If you're concerned you might be infected with COVID-19, the Saskatchewan COVID-19 self assessment tool is a helpful resource.

COVID-19 claims another life in Sask.

A third person has died in Saskatchewan from COVID-19-related complications.The victim was between the ages of 80 and 89, the province said in a news release.

As of Wednesday, Saskatchewan has nine new, confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the provincial total to 193.

The province is now categorizing cases by transmission:

Also, the province said 24 cases can be traced back to a Christopher Lake snowmobile rally dinner on March 14.

The Saskatoon area continues to have the highest concentration of known cases with 94 individuals who have tested positive for the virus.

Nine more people have recovered from COVID-19 in Saskatchewan, bringing the provincial total to 30, the province said.

Call for supports

The City of Saskatoon and members from the Safe Community Alliance have sent a letter to the province asking for increased support for the city’s homeless community.

The letter was sent on Monday and asks Premier Scott Moe to provide more support for organizations that house and feed vulnerable people in light of the COVID-19 pandemic

“Right now it is an urgent time for the province and it needs to be an immediate priory to get the systems in place to support the vulnerable population; we have community agencies who have come together in an unprecedented way to work and provide services to community shelters,” Mayor Charlie Clark said in the letter.

Seniors home responds to complaints

A private seniors home in Saskatoon says it’s taking several measures to practice physical distancing and protect residents from COVID-19.

This comes after complaints from family members that not enough is being done to protect the city’s most vulnerable population during the pandemic.

“For the last three weeks, we have put every infection control measure in place that is required by the Health Department and the Ministry of Health. We have also been very diligent in mentioning the health of our residents and of staff,” said Suzanne Turmel, CEO of Trinity Manor, in a letter to residents and family members on March 30.

U of S students push for alternative marks

A University of Saskatchewan (U of S) student has started an online petition asking the school to take a different approach to final grades during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Morgan Mutschler, a first-year engineering student, is asking for students to have the option to choose between a final letter grade or a pass or fail grade for 2020 winter classes, similar to the systems recently put in place at the University of Regina and universities in Alberta.

City of Saskatoon closes Sid Buckwold Bridge walkway

The City of Saskatoon is closing another pedestrian walkway to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The city closed the Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge pedestrian walkway on Tuesday, following last week's closure of the CP Rail Pedestrian bridge.

The Traffic Bridge and University Bridge walkways remain open, but the walkways on each side of the respective bridges are only open to one-way pedestrian traffic.

'We can’t just re-open our businesses the way they were'

A Saskatoon restaurant owner says she’s on board with restaurateurs receiving financial help if they need it during the COVID-19 pandemic - but also believes the industry needs to adapt to a new way of operating.

“It seems like we were headed towards a collapse anyways, and so I look at this as kind of like the great levelling,” said Christie Peters, who owns The Hollows and Primal. She has had had to lay off as many as 50 staff.

“I’ve just been watching our industry struggle with these small independent businesses, having trouble paying their staff enough, or making enough money and the profit margins are just so thin.”

'We are really are taking a good look at the job sites'

The Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association says it is finding ways to try to support workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Construction work is still continuing and the construction industry has now really had to accommodate this new growing hazard, and we are really are taking a good look at the job sites now,” said Colin Pullar, president of the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association.

Final note for SSO season

The Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra has canceled the remainder of its season.

"The measures taken to address the need to keep Canadians as safe as possible have a major impact on our orchestra. It is very difficult to lose these incredible musical moments - and hard for our musicians to not be able to make music together," the SSO said in a statement.

"We are putting in to place contingency plans that can get all of our musicians back to work as quickly as possible when the time comes. As well, we're working on plans to create some extra work for them in the new season," the statement said.

5th positive test at correctional centre

A fifth staff member at Saskatoon Provincial Correctional Centre has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the provincial government.

The justice ministry has no reason to believe any of the five cases were spread within the correctional facility, according to a spokesperson.

Saskatoon SPCA encourages adoptions during pandemic

he Saskatoon SPCA says it has found homes for 116 animals over the last two weeks and is encouraging more people to adopt a furry friend during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re going to need to take care of these animals no matter what happens in our world. We provide shelter to about 4,000 animals every year and that doesn’t go away with a pandemic,” Jasmine Hanson, communications coordinator for the Saskatoon SPCA, said

Premier to donate salary increase

Premier Scott Moe says he will donate his scheduled salary increase to charities in the province. On Wednesday, MLAs and cabinet members in the province received a 1.7 per cent cost of living salary increase.

“In light of the current pandemic crisis, I will be donating the entire sum of this increase to Saskatchewan charities, in addition to the amount that I regularly donate,” Moe said. “I am encouraging every MLA and cabinet minister to do the same.”

Sask. First Nation joins call for closing liquor stores

The Chief and Council of Montreal Lake Cree Nation want the province to ban the sale of liquor to stop the spread of COVID-19.

“Since the bars and night clubs have been shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we have seen an increase of house parties on our First Nation," Chief Frank Roberts said in a news release.

"On behalf of Council, we are extremely worried that people at these parties, which involve the use of alcohol, are not practicing social distancing. Consequently, this high-risk behaviour of socializing at house parties will only contribute to the spread of COVID-19. In addition, bootleggers have ramped up their illegal liquor sales on reserve."

Phones for seniors

A Saskatoon company is helping seniors stay connected during the COVID-19 pandemic

Bolt Mobile has launched Operation Lifeline. Old smarthphones are being refurbished and sanitized and then donated to people without phones who are isolated in seniors’ homes and hospitals.

COVID-19 shelter funding not enough: Lighthouse

The province’s promise of funding to help emergency shelters isn’t enough to sustain the growing costs associated with COVID-19, according to the Lighthouse Saskatoon.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Social Services announced it will give $171,000 to 10 emergency shelters.

Don Windels, executive director of the Lighthouse Saskatoon, expects his emergency shelter will receive about $35,000 of the funding — which represents 0.5 per cent of the facility’s annual budget.

"That’s pretty easy to spend, especially with the increased costs we have right now," Windels told CTV News.

March MATCHness

As sports fans lament the loss of the Final Four games of the March Madness tournament, one man is turning lemons into lemonade. CTV Morning Live Saskatoon's Mike Ciona spoke with L. David Dube about March MATCHness, an initiative to help food banks in this time of need.

Monday recap

A woman who lived on a farm outside of Battleford has been identified as one of the Saskatchewan’s first COVID-19 deaths. Alice Grove collapsed in her home on Friday from a lack of oxygen. She had a high fever and was rushed to Battlefords Union Hospital, according to her family.

The province announced eight new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday which brings the provincial total to 184. The bulk of the cases are concentrated in three areas. Ninety of those who have tested positive for the virus are from the Saskatoon area. Regina currently has 39 cases and the province's north is home to 37 cases.

Saskatchewan's Ministry of Social Services announced a new plan to help the province's most vulnerable residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plan includes funding for the Lighthouse in Saskatoon and North Battleford, the YWCA in Saskatoon and Prince Albert and the Salvation Army in Saskatoon.

Now that schools are closed because of COVID-19, a local organization focused on food security wants to ensure students are not stuck with an empty plate.