Premier quashes hope for northern cottage owners this long weekend

Premier Scott Moe ended any hope Wednesday that owners of cottages in northern Saskatchewan would be allowed to visit their summer retreats for the Victoria Day long weekend.

Moe was asked on Gormley whether the provincial government will consider reopening certain areas of the northern district where there aren’t any active cases of COVID-19.

“Yes, but not before this weekend,” Moe said, asking for patience from the public.

“This was necessary to settle down the virus. It’s working and we just need to stay the course … for a few weeks.”

Moe said travel restrictions in the northwest, where case numbers have been high, would likely remain in place for several weeks but he didn’t rule out reopening other areas sooner.

There has been growing pushback against the travel restrictions from communities without any active cases of the virus. Moe said the current situation in the northeast is “positive” and the province can begin looking at phasing in access.

“We are going to revisit this in the days ahead,” Moe said. “We just need a few more days of low numbers in the north so that we can really start to concentrate — which we are with our resources in the northwest — and ensure that we contain this virus.”

COVID-19 testing

Moe says the province needs to test more people for the virus.

The province has the capacity to conduct 1,500 tests per day, but far fewer tests are actually being done according to Moe. He said it’s because there aren’t as many people showing symptoms.

“If we are going to control these flareups and outbreaks in the months ahead until such time we have a vaccine, we need to greatly increase our testing,” he said.

Moe said the first step is changing the parameters of eligibility. Moe said another option being considered is random testing in areas with a high risk of contraction.

On Tuesday, the Saskatchewan Health Authority said some people weren’t getting tested due to stigmatization by other residents in their communities.

Dr. Julie Kryzanowski said during a conference call with reporters the hope is that those getting tested will be celebrated for doing so instead of being stigmatized by their neighbours.

— With files from 650 CKOM’s Brent Bosker