Here are highlights from Tuesday’s latest COVID-19 update in Regina with Premier Scott Moe and Dr. Saqib Shahab:
Expansion of vaccines
Premier Moe touted the expansion of the vaccine rollout across the province. The eligibility age is being reduced to 42 starting Wednesday, and to 30 in the far North.
On Friday the age eligibility across Saskatchewan will be lowered to 40, at which time eligibility will be expanded to police officers, firefighters, frontline health care workers, corrections officers, border crossing officers, public health inspectors and those working in schools.
In May, the weekly shipment from Pfizer will be doubled from 31,500 doses per week to about 63,000, and “that’s going to make a huge difference.” It is not clear what the delivery schedule will be for the other vaccines but Moe expects they will hear that delivery schedule soon.
Vaccines for truckers at the border
There was a major announcement Tuesday of an agreement between Saskatchewan and North Dakota to supply vaccines to essential transport workers crossing the border.
North Dakota will start vaccinating Saskatchewan truckers crossing into the Pembina border crossing. In the coming days they will also set up another location at North Portal to vaccinate truckers as well as essential energy workers crossing the border into Saskatchewan.
“This is great news,” said Moe, who thanked North Dakota governor Doug Burgum and the entire state of North Dakota for sharing their vaccine supply with Canada.
Regina stabilizing
Dr. Shahab did have some good news about case counts, particularly in the Regina area. After a lot of hard work, “we are finally seeing some stability in Regina,” he said.
Citing the restrictions in place there, they are finally seeing stability in case rates. “We can’t let our guard down,” he added, noting that the variants seen in Regina and the south are now being seen increasingly in Saskatoon.
It is primarily being seen in workplaces, Dr. Shahab said. He urged that if you can work from home, do work from home.
P.1 variant of concern
There was also plenty of talk at the media conference about the rise of the P.1. (Brazilian) variant numbers. Dr. Shahab noted that variant is being seen all along their Western border.
In response, he said it was imperative to stay close to home, minimize nonessential travel anywhere within the province or outside the province, and for those with any concerns who do come back to Saskatchewan to get tested.
He urged all age groups to get vaccinated. “There will be more than enough vaccine — that is what the shipping schedule suggests for the next six weeks for all of us to get our first dose, and in many cases our second dose.”
