‘We are losing the battle against this virus’: Saskatchewan doctors hope for more action on COVID

A group of Saskatchewan doctors believes the province is currently losing the fight against COVID-19.

280 physicians penned a letter to Premier Scott Moe, Dr. Saqib Shahab and Health Minister Paul Merriman encouraging stronger measures to cut back the spread of the virus.

“If more is not done to change our course we are confident that winter will bring overflowing hospitals, canceled surgeries, overwhelmed healthcare providers, and needless deaths,” the letter reads.

It points to the recent upswing in case numbers. Over the past month, active cases have increased from 161 to 1,305. There have also been record numbers of daily increases.

“It is becoming increasingly clear to us, physicians from across Saskatchewan, that we are losing the battle against this virus,” it continued.

The doctors suggested looking to pandemic response models from places like the Maritimes, New Zealand, Australia and South Korea for examples of successfully slowing the spread.

They did not make any specific request for more restrictions, but rather asked the government to put out a plan with more details.

“Both action and inaction will be criticized. We humbly ask you to act with sufficient force to reverse the rising daily case counts while also detailing how and when we would escalate our interventions even further. Making decisions, even when difficult, is the hallmark of strong leadership,” the letter said.

The letter acknowledged that it is difficult to keep up with COVID safety measures, but still encouraged caution.

“We appreciate that, in battling this epidemic, there are no easy solutions. From the inconvenience of wearing masks, to the isolation of social distancing and quarantine, to the harms felt by local businesses with every escalation in restrictions, we know that doing more will be difficult for Saskatchewan people. However, the lives of our friends and neighbours are on the line.”

650 CKOM has reached out to the provincial government for a response.

#COVID19 is getting out of hand in Saskatchewan and physicians are concerned. We've now collected 280 signatures for this letter. @PremierScottMoe, we look hopefully to you for decisive leadership that will turn these numbers around. pic.twitter.com/Pu8WzqXfoK

— Brent Thoma (@Brent_Thoma) November 11, 2020