The Saskatchewan Health Association (SHA) has eased visitor restrictions put in place at the Victoria Hospital and Prince Albert long-term care homes.

The old restrictions limited visitors to family members or support people for compassionate reasons. The organization said they feel confident easing restrictions after going 14 days without a new COVID-19 case. Regular restrictions, like limits on how many people can visit a resident or patient at one time, are still in place.

“We recognize how difficult this is for patients, residents, and families, but the decision to limit family presence is guided by the need to protect our patients, clients, residents, families and health care teams during this pandemic,” reads the media release.

“The SHA is committed to returning to an open family presence as soon as it is safe to do (so) and we will be continually assessing the impact of these restrictions.”

The upgraded restrictions were put in place on July 8 after a spike in cases in the Prince Albert area.