St. Louis mayor not happy with SHA release about COVID exposure risk

By Caitlyn Lepp

Marc Caron is taking issue with a media release issued by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA).

On Wednesday, the SHA said there was an increased risk of COVID-19 exposure in the village of St. Louis, which is located about 35 kilometres south of Prince Albert.

The SHA advisory was aimed at anyone who attended outdoor events, poker rallies or poker card parties or had gatherings outside their household bubble since Christmas.

Caron, the village’s mayor, says the media release reflects negatively on St. Louis.

“We’re worried about some of the wording of the possible events that led to this exposure … which are totally false,” Caron said Thursday.

“We are concerned about COVID in the community, but we’re also concerned about how (SHA officials) are making it sound like the village endorsed all these activities.”

Outdoor events, poker rallies or any other public gatherings that took place happened as a result of residents not following public health guidelines.

Caron said the last community-endorsed poker rally was held in February 2020, prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Saskatchewan.

“There has been no community event endorsed by the community or inside the community since the pandemic began,” Caron said.

“The one community event we did have was the annual New Year’s Eve fireworks display, but we received permission from the health authority and we used strict COVID protocols.”

Caron says village officials don’t have any knowledge of the events mentioned in the SHA media release. He added he hopes residents of St. Louis will comply with SHA guidelines.