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.
Don't ignore health concerns
A Saskatoon family physician said she is concerned that her office has seen a drop in appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"That made us quite concerned that people were downplaying some symptoms and perhaps staying home when they normally would come and seek medical care,” said Dr. Shanna Fenton who works at City Centre Family Physicians.
However, Fenton said those numbers are slowly rising now that the province is starting to reopen.
Explaining the numbers
The province and the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) say decisions being made about reopening Saskatchewan are based on several points of data.
One of them is the Effective Reproductive Number (ERN). It shows the average amount of people one person with the novel coronavirus is likely to infect factoring in interventions.
An ERN of 1.0 means one person is likely to infect one other person with the virus. As of April 25, the ERN was 0.7. The SHA says by May 2, it had climbed to 0.97.
Outbreak in Meadow Lake
A staff member at Meadow Lake Hospital has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
The case was linked to community transmission, the health authority said in a news release. No patients have presented with symptoms of COVID-19.
Medical Health Officer Dr. Mandiangu Nsungu declared an outbreak Tuesday evening.
The staff member and their close contacts are on self-isolation and additional contact tracing is underway.
At this time, there are no service disruptions at Meadow Lake Hospital, the health authority says.
$2B infrastructure boost
The Government of Saskatchewan announced a $2 billion increase in infrastructure investment over two years, to assist economic growth following damage done by COVID-19.
The investment is a two-year capital plan, with a total investment of $7.5 billion with the increase announced on Wednesday afternoon.
“This is a $2 billion economic booster-shot over and above the $5.5 billion our government had already planned to invest in capital projects over the next two years and will be an important step in our province’s economic recovery,” Premier Moe said.
Sask. surpasses 500 cases
Saskatchewan has surpassed 500 COVID-19 cases after announcing 25 new cases on Wednesday.
The province now sits at 512 cases. Of those cases, 194 are considered active.
Two more people have recovered have recovered from the virus, for a provincial total of 312.
Videogames help with stress: prof
In an era of isolation, turning to video games is a proven way to deal with stress, anxiety and other mental health challenges.
Regan Mandryk is a professor of computer science at the University of Saskatchewan. She has studied the effects of video games on adults between 18 and 55-years-old and found out video games can promote mental wellness in a time where isolation is the new normal.
“Video games provide psychological detachment from what’s going on out there, provide relaxation, they provide feelings of mastery over challenges that are set to you and feeling of control over your environment which are four key pieces needed to recover from stress,” Mandryk said.
Confronting COVID-19
Fond Du Lac Denesuline First Nation has had no cases of COVID-19 and Chief Louis Mercedi wants it to stay that way.
"We've been on lockdown going eight weeks now, since March 21, and we had shut down our school way before the province (ordered it) and shut down all huge gatherings," Mercredi said in a phone interview with CTV News.
Giving seniors a helping hand
Seniors are struggling with the adverse effects of pandemic isolation measures, said John Fryters, pastor and director of the Heart of Seniors Gathering Centre.
That’s in addition to the anxiety of being one of the groups particularly vulnerable to COVID-19.
Fryters said it’s hard to tell if this amount of need existed before the COVID-19 pandemic or if the isolation measures have just brought more of it to their attention.
Ag funding disappointing: Sask. Cattlemen's Association
The federal government has announced around $250 million in supports for the agri-food, but Saskatchewan beef producers say the announcement is missing many measures they had called for.
Of that funding, around $125 million will go to helping cattle and hog producers who are currently producing more animals than can be processed right now.
Ryder Lee, the CEO of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association, called the funding disappointing, adding producers were hoping to see measures surrounding price insurance and changes to different programs, most missing from the announcement.
Plans for health care services
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has announced a plan to phase health care services back in, beginning on May 19.
The SHA’s Service Resumption Plan shows services will return in four phases - but only the initial phase has an assigned start date.
As of May 3rd, the province’s effective reproductive number was 0.97, meaning the average infected person in the province will infect fewer than one other person.
This number is up from 0.7, the effective reproductive number reported by the SHA one week ago.
Tuesday recap
As positive cases continue to climb in Saskatchewan’s far north, a village councillor in La Loche says she wants the village council to impose further public restrictions to keep people inside their homes.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority declared a COVID-19 outbreak at a Saskatoon dairy facility. SaskMilk, an organization representing the dairy industry, told CTV News the outbreak is at Saputo’s Saskatoon plant.
Saskatchewan is reporting 20 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the province’s total to 487. Eighteen of those new cases are in La Loche and the surrounding area of the far north region.
Finally, a former Rosetown man and his family have been holding bingo nights on Facebook live for the last six weeks to give family and friends something to do during the COVID-19 pandemic.
