'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
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
'Ninja,' Twitch's biggest streamer, is diagnosed with skin cancer
American gamer and Twitch superstar, Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins, revealed he was diagnosed with melanoma, a form of skin cancer.