A day after reporting several dozen new COVID-19 cases over just three days, Saskatchewan saw only five new instances of COVID-19 Tuesday, along with 19 recoveries.
The province has totalled 876 cases since the pandemic began. Of those cases, 76 are considered active.
Three of the new cases from Tuesday are in the Central region, with one each in the Saskatoon and Regina regions.
There were no new cases reported in the north region for the second straight day. The north region, which includes Prince Albert, has the lowest number of active COVID-19 cases in the province with three.
The central region, which saw an influx in cases over the weekend, has 35 active cases.
Six people are in the hospital. Four are receiving inpatient care in Saskatoon while two are in intensive care. One intensive patient is in Saskatoon and the other in the south.
More details revealed about back-to-school plans
During a press conference Tuesday, Premier Scott Moe discussed some of the details of the province’s back to school plans.
Saskatchewan intends to resume in-person classes at K-12 schools in the fall.
Parents, teachers and the official opposition have critiqued current guidelines as vague.
Moe said there is more there than meets the eye.
The province has been learning from other jurisdictions that have opened schools, and individual school divisions are working through their own guidelines, he said.
“We saw public health come out with a number of guidelines that went to school divisions, who are autonomous in how they operate,” he said.
“They are putting together … procedures for not only each of their school divisions but each of their facilities.”
Those procedures, he said, will come back to the response planning team, made up of public health and government officials as well as representation from the school boards association and teachers’ federation for approval. The planning team will provide any additional input on the policies and procedures for school divisions to put in place.
Once they’re approved, they will be communicated to children, staff and parents.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab pointed out that daycares have been operating throughout the pandemic with no outbreaks attributed to them.
“It’s been a very strategic process to make sure we can have the opportunity … to return to school as safely as possible in the fall,” Moe said.
“It started by learning what other jurisdictions are doing.”
