Conditions apply as Saskatchewan prepares to open care homes to more visitors

Saskatchewan is loosening visitation restrictions at long-term and personal care homes.

On Thursday, the provincial government announced that, starting April 29, residents of those facilities will be able to have more visitors — provided the residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and “at least 90 per cent of residents have been fully vaccinated and three weeks have elapsed since the last second dose vaccinations.”

Everett Hindley, Saskatchewan’s minister of mental health and addictions, seniors and rural and remote health, said 43 long-term care homes in the province already meet that criteria. There are more than 110 that don’t, but progress is being made in those facilities.

“This is by far the No. 1 question and the No. 1 phone call and letter and email that I have heard and had come into my office: ‘When can we visit our mom or dad or grandma or grandpa or aunt or uncle in the long-term care home?’ ” Hindley said during a media conference.

“Today, thanks to the great work of our vaccine teams delivering shots to seniors in those homes, I’m very pleased to be able to answer that question.”

According to the Ministry of Health, vaccination rates in many long-term care homes already exceed 90 per cent and some personal care homes already are at 100 per cent.

Dr. Saqib Shahab, Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer, admitted it has been “a hard year” for individuals in long-term and personal care homes due to the visitation restrictions that were put in place early in the pandemic.

“We were looking for any opportunity that we could allow visitation in a safe manner,” Shahab said Thursday.

“We certainly have looked at evidence from other parts of the world, Canada and the U.S. The approach we have is a very safe approach where, once you have a high vaccination uptake in a long-term care facility, you can safety start visiting.”

According to a media release from the government, Saskatchewan Health Authority medical health officers will have the discretion to keep the homes locked down, even if they meet those requirements.

“If there is an area perhaps where there’s increased cases for example, there will be a determination made as to whether or not we can proceed with this in these areas,” Hindley said.

“We know that this is something that’s important for people. We know we need to continue to make sure that we’re protecting all of our residents, including those that are most vulnerable.”

The visitors to the care homes don’t need to be vaccinated, but Shahab suggested many of them — if they’re 50 and over — likely will have received their first shots. That will provide another level of protection to the residents.

If the proper conditions are met, people will be allowed to visit two at a time in indoor settings, while up to four family members or support people can visit residents outdoors.

Residents who are fully vaccinated and who go on outings won’t have to quarantine upon returning to their homes.

Those who visit residents will still have to follow public health guidelines regarding wearing masks, practising physical distancing and hand hygiene, and undergoing routine testing and temperature screening.

If a resident leaves a care home, they’ll still have to follow current public health measures regarding indoor and outdoor gatherings.

The SHA is to notify long-term care homes as to when they can ease the restrictions. Personal care homes will have to follow the SHA guidelines and be able to verify that they meet the required conditions.

“(The easing of restrictions) really shows the way of what we can achieve once we get vaccinated,” Shahab said. “We hope this will expand not just to long-term care … but to visiting our close friends and family with increasing confidence over the next few months.”

According to government data, there had been 146 COVID-related deaths in long-term and personal care homes in Saskatchewan as of April 12.

There had been 48 deaths in long-term, not-for-profit care homes, 44 in long-term, for-profit care homes, 31 in SHA-operated long-term care facilities and 23 in personal care homes.