The risk of COVID in Saskatoon has reached ‘critical’ status, according to the municipal government.
The City uses four indicators to nail down the virus’ risk in the community: the average of weekly cases, the test positivity rate, the virus’ effective reproduction rate, and the percentage of people who have their vaccine.
According to a news release, all of those indicators except for vaccinations have reached the city’s ‘red-level’ risk status.
Pamela Goulden-McLeod, the city’s director of emergency management organization, said it’s possible things will get harder for city services.
“We are anticipating and planning for the likelihood that City staff will need to be away from the workplace due to COVID-related illness and self-isolation resulting from the Omicron variant in our community,” she said in a news release.
However, she’s still confident basic things like having trash picked up and snow removed won’t be affected.
“We want to stress to residents that core services are being maintained,” she continued.
She specifically pointed to the facts that “garbage collection remains on schedule, roadways snow clearing is progressing as scheduled, water treatment remains reliable and safe, wastewater processes remain unaffected, City repair and maintenance projects are happening (and) Saskatoon Light & Power service remains unaffected.”
Leisure centres, indoor arenas, and the City Hall lobby also remain open.