'Assume it is COVID': Self-isolate with even mild, cold-like symptoms, Sask. health official says
A Saskatchewan health official is warning that even a case of the sniffles is a reason to self-isolate.
Speaking during a recent Saskatchewan Health Authority physician's town hall, medical health officer Dr. Johnmark Opondo said even based on limited data, it's obvious "COVID is circulating very widely in Saskatchewan."
"This is a very, very infectious variant of COVID," Opando said while showing a slide that included a bullet point labelled "assume it is COVID."
"We'd like everybody to take any respiratory symptoms, any cold-like symptoms must be taken seriously no matter how mild," Opondo said.
"Your first assumption is it is COVID until proven otherwise and you do need to self isolate, do not go to work."
The medical health officer said a rapid at-home test is a "good first step" and positive result "should be acted on."
Opondo said the more accurate PCR lab testing offered by the SHA is "really oversubscribed — meaning there is not enough testing capacity to meet current demand."
The province is directing residents to self-test using at-home antigen tests if mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic.
"We believe we might only be seeing the tip of the iceberg even from our PCR test reports," Opondo said.
While the province was among the last to start experiencing the current Omicron-fueled fifth wave of COVID-19, Saskatchewan's rate of growth is faster than other provinces, he said.
"Unfortunately when we compare our public health orders across the provinces, generally the trend is provinces that have fewer public health orders seem to show higher rates of Omicron," Opondo said.
"The fact that at Christmas and New Year's, we did have little limitations on gathering limits. All this potentially points to a period of rapid growth of Omicron."
Last week the Government of Saskatchewan extended its existing public health order which requires proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test in certain settings and mandates public mask-wearing.
During a Jan. 12 news conference announcing the extension, Premier Scott Moe said his government does not believe additional measures would be "effective" in preventing the spread of COVID-19, saying people in Saskatchewan should "trust themselves" to make the right decisions.
A day later, it was announced Moe had tested positive for COVID-19.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.