SASKATOON -- Check back throughout the day for the latest on COVID-19 in Saskatoon and area.
If you're concerned you might be infected with COVID-19, the Saskatchewan COVID-19 self-assessment tool is a helpful resource.
Here's advice on how to practice physical/social distancing and how to properly self-isolate at home.
Plan for school year
On Thursday afternoon, the Saskatchewan government issued its COVID-19 guidelines for school divisions to follow during the upcoming school year.
Guidelines include specifics on hygiene, physical distancing, limiting shared materials and equipment, extra-curriculars, facilities, illness in care, sanitation, transportation, students with intensive needs and mental and emotional supports.
Take a look, it's in a book
Saskatoon Public Library (SPL) has had 1,357 holds placed this week after arranging for pick-up of physical library materials.
Those holds are by 1,957 Saskatoon residents, said Beth Cote, director of Public Services.
“It’s wonderful to see all the holds that are coming in,” she said.
15 new cases
On Thursday afternoon the province officially added 14 new COVID-19 cases stemming from an outbreak in a pair of Hutterite communities in the RM of Maple Creek to Saskatchewan's overall tally.
In addition to the 14 new cases, there was a new confirmed case found in Saskatchewan's far north.
As of Thursday's COVID-19 update from the Saskatchewan government, there were 59 active cases in the province, with 29 cases concentrated in the northern portion of the province, 15 in the south and 13 in Saskatoon
There have bee 708 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic.
More than 100,000 cases
Canada has officially recorded more than 100,000 cases of COVID-19 as provinces ramp up testing to understand the full burden of infection in the country.
Health officials in Ontario announced 173 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday morning, bringing the total number of confirmed infections in Canada to 100,026.
But the new figure isn’t particularly meaningful, says Dr. Sandy Buchman, a palliative care physician in Toronto and the president of the Canadian Medical Association.
Testing a tracing app
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that the federal government will begin testing a “completely voluntary” mobile contact tracing app that can be used nationwide. The app will compile confirmed positive COVID-19 cases and notify Canadians when they’ve been in proximity to someone who has the virus.
Trudeau called the coming monitoring and exposure notification application a “crucial” public health step as more Canadians begin resuming some semblance of normal life, including returning to work.
“I want to stress that this will be completely voluntary. It will be up to individual Canadians to decide whether to download the app or not. But the app will be most effective when as many people as possible have it,” Trudeau said.
New outbreak
A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared in two Hutterite communities in the R.M. of Maple Creek.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said two members of a rural household tested positive for the virus last week.
An additional 14 cases were confirmed positive Wednesday. These cases are in addition to the nine new cases reported by the province earlier on Wednesday.
Public Health is investigating, including contact tracing and active case finding in targeted areas of the R.M.
Wednesday recap
In its daily update, the province reported nine new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday . Seven of the new cases were found in the far north and two in the Saskatoon area.
As of Wednesday's update, there were 47 active cases in Saskatchewan. Of the 47 active cases, 29 are concentrated in the far north and 13 in Saskatoon.
The City of Saskatoon said it is beginning the process of contacting staff for availability to get city amenities like splash pads, pools and leisure centres up and safely running.
Canadian Western Agribition (CWA) announced it’s 2020 show will be postponed to 2021.
In April, CWA officials said they intended to host the event as planned.
The events fiftieth show was set to take place Nov. 30 to Dec. 5 2020, and will now take place Nov. 22 to 27 2021.
Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer has been at the centre of local efforts to manage COVID-19. As a physician with more than two decades of experience, Dr. Saqib Shahab said leading the province in a fight against a pandemic has been “humbling."
“My role was to provide the best public health advice,” Shahab said in a sit down interview with CTV News.
“But obviously the government had a role to support the response both in terms of health system being able to cope with an influx of cases, but also to be ready for a large surge, but more importantly, what actions can the government support for Saskatchewan residents to take slow the transmission."
