Saskatoon expands proof of COVID-19 vaccination requirement to city pools, indoor arenas

SASKATOON -

Saskatoon City Council has voted to expand proof of vaccination requirements to some city facilities not currently covered under the province's mandate.

As of Oct. 1, a new provincial public health order came into effect requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result no more than 72 hours old in certain situations.

According to a report from city administration, the order didn't apply to aquatic areas and programs, private gatherings hosted in public venues and indoor arenas.

Concillors made the decision to match the public health order in these settings during a special meeting of city council on Friday.

Ward 1 Coun. Darren Hill supported the measure, which administration recommended, but said he wishes the province had taken a more gradual approach in its health order when it comes to young athletes.

"I do wish though that the public health order had given some consideration to a phase-in or an implementation for minor sport because we're looking at now alienating or restricting access for a number of youth between the ages of 12 and 18 that may have got their first vaccination at the start of the school year and are waiting (for their second)," Hill said.

Hill said he worries the families of young athletes who may not be fully vaccinated may not be able to afford to pay for a COVID-19 test in order to provide a negative result.

The change comes into effect on Oct. 15. City Hall, libraries and the figure skating portion of ACT Arena, which is not operated by the city, are exempt.

According to the city, the following will be accepted as proof of vaccination

• Wallet cards received at time of immunization
• A printed copy of your MySaskHealthRecord vaccine certificate (with or without a QR code) or a ‘screenshot’ of your vaccine certificate (with or without a QR code) saved to your device
• A COVID-19 vaccine printout from Saskatchewan Health Authority Public Health
• A QR code/MySaskHealthRecord vaccine certificate uploaded to SK Vax Wallet app which will is available free from Google Play or Apple App stores
• Official proof of vaccine documents from other governments

Only negative COVID-19 rapid antigen or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result from within the previous 72 hours will be accepted in lieu of vaccination proof.

Self-administered take-home rapid antigen tests (e.g. pictures of negative tests) will not be accepted as valid proof of negative COVID-19 test results.