Mixed reactions come with lift of Saskatchewan’s COVID-19 public health orders

The last of Saskatchewan’s public health orders were lifted on Sunday, as the province started Step 3 of the provincial government’s Re-Opening Roadmap.

Final restrictions requiring masking in public indoor spaces and limits on mass gatherings were removed.

But what were people saying — and doing — now that restrictions have been removed?

650 CKOM and 980 CJME spoke to many on Day 1 without public health orders, some with mixed reactions.

Uneasy with unmasking the province

Shoppers at a grocery store in Saskatoon had mixed reviews of the masks coming off. One of them, Sidra Baig, found most of the customers were still wearing face coverings.

“You can say it’s the same ratio … 70 per cent wearing masks and 30 (per cent) are not. That’s like how many people are vaccinated,” Baig said outside the Sobey’s on Eighth Street.

Baig personally doesn’t feel too comfortable with the province dropping public health orders.

“I have little kids at home and they (are) not vaccinated,” Baig said. “(They are) under 12, so no, I’m not very comfortable with that.”

Another shopper, Linda Fisher, also feels like the reopening has been rushed.

“People should still be wearing masks,” Fisher said. “We’re still in a pandemic, so I’ll be wearing a mask.”

Concerns over the reopening aside, shoppers appeared comfortable while getting their groceries.

Bailey Schiller liked the feeling of going without a mask but realizes they might not be gone for good.

“If I’m feeling sick I’ll probably wear one … If you feel like you got something (you could) probably just not spread it to people if it’s that easy,” Schiller said.

“Everyone is still wearing masks (inside the grocery store) from what I’ve seen, honestly.”

Gradual reopening for Regina church

While public health orders were lifted, many of the pews remained cordoned off for Sunday worship at First Presbyterian Church in Regina on July 11, 2021.

For the first time since the fall, First Presbyterian Church reopened its doors.

However, the scene was still reminiscent of pandemic norms. At the entrance, names were taken for contact tracing purposes, masks were worn until parishioners reached their seats and many pews remained cordoned off.

“We know it will be a process for people to feel comfortable to come back, altogether,” said Rev. Amanda Currie.

Currie described the church’s reopening as sort of a test run.

“We thought this summer would be a nice, quiet time,” she said. “We know that our attendance is lower in the summer anyway, as people are doing different things and maybe going up to the lake and that sort of thing. So we thought we would open for summertime … take it slowly and hopefully by September we’ll be able to remove all the restrictions, and things will become a little bit more back to normal.”

The day’s service brought about 20 people with the rest of the congregation watching a live stream remotely.

There was group singing, an activity that had been discouraged during the pandemic, yet a sound Currie missed hearing. She was also glad just to see people in person again.

“This congregation is a very huggy congregation and so usually at the end of the service, I’m standing at the back in the entranceway as people are coming out, and I get a hug from about 80 per cent of the congregation, some people would prefer a handshake,” she said.

Currie knows her church is among the fortunate ones. While Sunday was a cheerful one, she’s concerned about those who can’t or won’t get a COVID-19 vaccine, here and abroad.

“Because we know that until everyone in the world, receives vaccines and gets through this pandemic none of us are actually going to get through it,” she said.

‘Freedom Brunch’ held at Regina eatery

While some are taking a cautious approach, those at Regina’s Birmingham’s Vodka and Ale House are feeling much more celebratory.

The end of restrictions mean the establishment can maximize the use of its space, said Levi Warren, general manager of the restaurant’s east end location. At one point during the pandemic, the restaurant was down to 30 per cent capacity.

“(The change) allows us to do our business the way we wanted to do our business, as opposed to the way the government wanted to do our business,” Warren said.

Warren said the atmosphere at the bar is one of independence. Rather than being escorted to a table by a host, visitors seat themselves wherever they choose. To mark the end of public health orders, the restaurant advertised a “Freedom Brunch.”

“It felt like we were really restricted on how we can serve our guests and the whole guest experience was changed a lot,” he said.

“We like people feeling as free as possible coming into our establishment.”

Staffing has completely rebounded, Warren said, with regular shifts. It’s something others in the hospitality sector can only hope for, as the pandemic has hit the industry hard. Warren says a recovery hinges on the clientele.

“That’s what we rely on for our entire business is just people coming out enjoying having a good time, and really just enjoying their life as it was before,” he said.

A word of caution

In the province’s final regularly scheduled pandemic briefing last week, Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, said the end of public health orders is a “great time” for those who are fully vaccinated. Those people, he said, can meet in any place, without masks.

But for those who remain unprotected, Shahab said they’re at even higher risk than at the start of the pandemic when there was only one strain of the novel coronavirus.

“The people who are fully vaccinated are providing some protection to you, but COVID is sneaky and find its way out,” Shahab said.

“You’re actually in a worse place than last year because now you don’t have the Wuhan strain, you have variants like Alpha and Gamma and Delta, that are more transmittable and can be more severe irrespective of age.”

— With files from 650 CKOM’s Payton Zillich and 980 CJME’s Joseph Ho