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Despite rising COVID-19 cases in the west and the next few weeks bringing the potential of more visitors to Saskatchewan, Scott Moe’s government isn’t implementing any new rules around travel.
The premier has been repeatedly asked about travel, specifically from Alberta.
“We haven’t seen any drastic changes in caseloads starting to increase in Saskatchewan due to that travel,” he recently told reporters.
For Shayne Gardeski, that’s not overly reassuring. He lives in Luseland on the western side of Saskatchewan. He said he would favour measures preventing Albertans from travelling east, specifically coming to the province to camp.
“I would just like to see no Alberta plates in the campgrounds until they get their situation under control,” he said.
“They’re putting all the other communities at risk,” Gardeski added. “They’re going to be coming in and possibly bringing in more infections with them.”
He said he believes it’s irresponsible for Saskatchewan Parks to allow this.
But Sask. Parks follows the guidance of the provincial government.
“We are watching what is happening in Alberta but we’re not considering any quarantine or travel restrictions at this time,” said Moe.
Alberta now has the highest COVID rate in Canada. New restrictions will be in place in that province for the next three weeks.
On Friday, schools will move to remote learning. On Sunday, barbershops, hair salons and restaurant patios will have to close. Capacity for retail, outdoor gatherings and churches will also be cut.
Premier Jason Kenney says the changes are necessary to contain a surging wave of cases that will otherwise overwhelm the health system in the next few weeks.
About two-thirds of Albertans over 50 have received one dose of a COVID vaccine. Despite that, he said COVID continues to spread, especially among young people.
With this information — and notable events like Mother’s Day, the May long weekend and camping seasonal launching shortly — Moe is staying the course. He said vaccinations currently available in Saskatchewan are effective against the COVID variants in which Alberta has been seeing an increase.
Both Moe and Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, have pointed out how closely intertwined the two provinces are. The biggest example is the City of Lloydminster sharing a border. Frequent travel occurs for essential work or personal reasons, explained Shahab.
The top doctor indicated it’s important to show solidarity with our neighbours and support each other as Canadians, as there have been occasions throughout the pandemic where all provinces have had times where cases have gone up or down.
“Having said that, we’ve always said throughout this pandemic, stay closer to home, even when you’re enjoying the summer,” Shahab said. “If you’re going camping or lakeside, stay closer to home and certainly we continue to say minimize interprovincial travel.”