Code Red: City proposes alert system to communicate Saskatoon COVID-19 risk, help prevent spread
Saskatoon’s city administration is proposing the city adopt a COVID-19 risk mitigation strategy to help inform city operations and members of the public of the current state of the pandemic.
The risk mitigation strategy, if endorsed by city council next week, would provide a breakdown of indicators, explaining the current level of risk and measures the city has in place to lessen the spread of the virus. If the COVID-19 situation worsens, the city could introduce more mitigation strategies to protect city employees and the public, but if the landscape improves, the city could lessen the mitigation strategies in place.
According to the city, those indicators look at Saskatoon's seven-day average of weekly reported cases of COVID-19 for every 100,000 people. The strategy also looks at Saskatoon’s seven-day test positivity rate, which measures the number of positive cases relative to the number of COVID-19 tests.
In the city’s report to the governance and priorities committee meeting, a test positivity rate of five per cent or less indicates the virus is under control.
Vaccination rates in the total population will also be shared in the new strategy, as well as hospitalizations and intensive care patients, and deaths by age, which the city describes as secondary indicators that may steer the city to adopt more strategies to mitigate the spread of the virus.
According to the city, the indicators and measures would be colour coded and based on a four-level risk assessment with green being a minor risk and red being critical risk.
Saskatoon's city administration proposed a COVID-19 mitigation strategy the city could use to enact restrictions at city facilities to stop the rising spread of COVID-19.
As the city moves up or down the risk continuum, measures are added or subtracted, according to the report.
If the proposed framework is adopted, the city’s administration would report on the primary and secondary indicators weekly. The city said the various measures put in place in response to the indicators would remain in place for at least 30 days and then be reviewed by city council at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Ontario reveals highest public sector salaries in sunshine list
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
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.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.