With cancellation of daily Sask. COVID-19 summary, people will have to 'go looking' for information: nurses' union
A nurses' union representative says the Government of Saskatchewan's decision to end the practice of distilling and releasing COVID-19 data on a daily basis could create barriers for a public looking to stay informed about the risk posed by the coronavirus.
On Thursday, the province announced while it would continue to update its online COVID-19 "dashboard," it will no longer post its daily summary of case counts and other information, instead moving to a weekly model for the summaries. The switch is planned for Aug. 3.
"It'll still be on that dashboard if you go looking for it. But it's not just going to be put out there so that people are aware of it and I think that would give us a better picture really of what's going on," Saskatchewan Union of Nurses vice-president Denise Dick told CTV News.
Dick said keeping information about COVID-19 flowing in Saskatchewan is especially critical right now due to the potential threat posed by the Delta variant.
"I would just wish it would continue because it's been a good reference for us to be able to see those numbers without having to go looking for them."
When announcing the move, the province did not provide a specific reason for the decision but said COVID-19 is moving from "pandemic to endemic."
Dick said she hopes the province would consider resuming the practice if case numbers begin to climb in Saskatchewan.
"I would hope that they would institute it right away, because I think it's a really important part, so that people know that things are changing and that they need to be more vigilant," Dick said.
"Because we don't know what's going to happen with these variants."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
'Tactical evacuations' underway near Fort Nelson, B.C., as wildfires encroach
The BC Wildfire Service says 'tactical evacuations' began Friday near Fort Nelson, B.C., due to an out-of-control wildfire that has grown rapidly since it was discovered earlier in the afternoon.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.