COVID-19 in Saskatchewan: The Week in Review, May 22

It’s like the first day of school in Saskatchewan with all the fresh haircuts this week!

And soon we may be able to go back to restaurants and gyms.

The latest on Phase 2, and the prospects for Phase 3 of reopening, as Week 10 since our world changed draws to a close.

All the information can start to blur after a while, but 650 CKOM has you covered. Every week we collect the most important stories, the good news and the cancellations you need to know about heading into your weekend. We’ll even leave you with a “week’s end smile.”

This was a huge week for Saskatchewan, as retail stores and hairdressers were able to open their doors and welcome customers for the first time since March. It looked a lot different though, with workers wearing masks and waiting rooms being left empty to increase physical distancing.

We also found out the province is targeting June 8 as the start date for Phase 3 of the “Re-Open Saskatchewan” plan, which will allow you to get in a workout at your favourite gym again, or grab a meal at a sit-down restaurant – and send those kiddos to a half-capacity daycare. The return of date nights, perhaps?

While that’s good news for many, we have more for you! Grandma and grandpa might be able to visit soon, high schools are finding a way to honour their grads despite the big ceremonies being cancelled and Saskatchewan artists are saying their own “thank you” to essential workers.

Let’s get into it!

The numbers

Saskatchewan’s active COVID-19 cases continued to go in the right direction – down. In fact, since last Friday that number has shrunk by 77, with only 99 active cases.

Out of those cases, 85 of them are in the La Loche area. There’s one case in southern Saskatchewan, one in Regina, one in Central Saskatchewan and five in Saskatoon.

Unfortunately, another person died of COVID-19 this week. They were a person in their 60s who lived in the north region, which is coloured light green on the map. That’s all the information the Chief Medical Health Officer and SHA will provide. Unlike some other jurisdictions, Saskatchewan refuses to name the communities where COVID deaths occur.

There was good news in the far north, as the rate of infection slowed down and an outbreak at La Loche’s long-term care home ended.

That key number doctors are keeping an eye on, the effective reproductive rate, also dipped down. The average person with COVID-19 in the far north is now only infecting 1.87 more people, while in the rest of the province the average case is only leading to 0.62 more people being infected.

Saskatchewan’s numbers:

• 627 total cases
• 521 recoveries
• 7 deaths
• 99 active cases
• 2 in-patient hospitalizations
• 3 people in ICU

Reopening Saskatchewan

It’s a lot busier on the roads, as more people went back to work this week as part of Phase 2 of the reopening plan.

Hairdressers and barbers were booked solid by mid-morning on Tuesday, while parking lots at shopping centres were packed as retail stores opened back up with safety measures and one-way aisles.

Stylist Janessa gets her hair cut for the first time in five months by Tommy Gunn’s Taylor Davidson. (Lara Fominoff/650 CKOM)

Everything looks a lot different though. Any clothes that are tried on by a customer have to be “quarantined” by the store for 72 hours, while massage therapists look more like they’re preparing for surgery on your muscles than for a zen experience.

All that cleaning everyone did during the height of the quarantine? Well, donation centres found out just how much stuff you decided to Marie Kondo out of your home. The Mission Thrift Shop filled their donation room in three hours, and now all that stuff has to sit untouched for three days.

While Phase 2 just started, we already know when Premier Scott Moe is planning to open up Saskatchewan’s economy even more. He’s set June 8 as the target date for Phase 3, which includes:

• Increasing indoor gatherings to 15 people max, outdoor to 30 people
• Opening restaurants for dine-in service, with 50 per cent capacity
• Allowing gyms and child-care operations to open at 50 per cent capacity
• Places of worship, like churches, synagogues and mosques allowed to reopen
• Personal services including tattoo artists, estheticians, makeup applicators, electrologists, manicurists, pedicurists, tanning parlours and body piercers allowed to operate

The provincial government is still figuring out the final rules for each of those sectors.

We also found out we’ll be able to return all those empties we piled up in the garage next month. SARCAN is opening up to commercial customers on June 8 by appointment, while the general public will be able to take their recycling in starting June 15.

Regina Grey Cup Festival cancelled, moved to 2022

Saskatchewan was getting ready to prove to the entire CFL why they should hold as many Grey Cups in Regina as possible this fall. It was going to be such a fun time. But alas, COVID-19 has other plans.

(Adriana Christianson/980 CJME)

The CFL CANCELLED the Grey Cup Festival in Regina because of the pandemic, instead saying that whichever team that enters the CFL final with the best regular season record will host the championship game. So the Riders will have to work hard to host the big game.

But do we really want them to? The delayed schedule could have the Grey Cup being played in December. You know, a month when the average high is -9 C and we could potentially see a few -20 C or -30 C days.

Maybe we still want it. Losing the Grey Cup Festival until 2022, when the Roughriders will host again, is going to cost Regina a lot of money.

Good news and helping hands

It’s been a long 10 weeks for those of us who haven’t been able to see our grandparents. With long term care homes on lockdown, most families have had to hold themselves to window visits.

Grade 12 grad Ariq Ahmed holds his 2020 Bedford Road Collegiate “Class of 2020” sign. (Lara Fominoff/650 CKOM)

But that could be changing soon! The health authority says its looking at a plan that will allow for outdoor visits with family, since it’s been a tough slog. That’ll be a relief for anyone on either side of the glass.

From the golden generation to the next generation, high schools are figuring out ways to honour their Grade 12 grads even though there won’t be any ceremonies or proms. In Saskatoon, every graduating student was able to pick up a lawn sign that tells everyone in their neighbourhood that they got their diploma!

In Regina, there’s a brand new mural in the warehouse district. Artists wanted to show their appreciation for essential workers during the pandemic.

Dog lovers in the Queen City are getting a bit of a return to normal. While Saskatoon never closed their off-leash dog parks, Regina’s just reopened last weekend. The puppers were so excited they couldn’t wait to get in front of our microphone for an interview (okay, maybe they just thought it was a chew toy).

Saskatchewan is continuing to find ways to get money to the people who need it. Our own colleague, Rock 102’s Watty, put together “We got this YXE” t-shirts to raise money for Saskatoon charities. The best part? These shirts are pretty stylin’. (That’s what the kids still say, right?)

Sports fans have something to look forward to again! The NHL is getting closer to a return-to-play plan, Hockey Canada is working out how the grassroots levels will get back on the ice, while the Huskies hockey teams are thinking about ways they can take their show on the road while their arena is used as a field hospital.

Some football fans will see the CFL’s plan to come back in September as a positive, but as we discussed above, it’s pretty bittersweet.

Cancellations and general bummers

The other cancellation this week came from our friends at Rock 102. They had to nix both the big Show and Shine car show and the Rock the River concert series. Big hit for those of us who love loud engines and sick guitar solos.

Another bummer in Saskatoon, for shoppers at least, is that paid parking is back on Monday. The city wants everyone to use their mobile app to pay though, so the number of people touching the pay parking machines isn’t as high.

Library staff are having a tough go at it. Regina just laid off a number of staff, with no return for libraries in sight under the province’s reopening plan.

Week’s end smile

Helping out a kid in an unimaginably difficult time seems to be what Saskatchewan does best.

Five-year-old Kendrah survived a triple murder in Prince Albert seven weeks ago, and had to undergo eight surgeries to repair her injuries.

She was able to come home this week, and the community came together to give “One Tough Cookie” a heroe’s welcome.

Just seeing the joy on her face is amazing.

Incredible display of community support. Welcome home Kendrah! @princealbertnow pic.twitter.com/DoPXAL2Yve

— nigel maxwell (@nigelmaxwell) May 20, 2020