Sask. COVID-19 policy makes its residents 'almost like guinea pigs'

Saskatchewan’s move to no longer require people to isolate after testing positive for COVID-19 — but still recommending it — is sending mixed messaging, Cheryl Camillo says.

“We’re almost like guinea pigs in Canada where other jurisdictions will look to the experience here now that these restrictions have been lifted and see if cases are going up,” said Camillo, a professor at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy and a pillar lead for the Coronavirus Variant Rapid Response Network.

On Monday, Saskatchewan lifted all of its public health orders including mandatory masking in indoor public spaces and the requirement for people who get infected with COVID to self-isolate.

Camillo said the province’s mixed messaging can lead to confusion, frustration and people doing whatever they want.

She said the province should explain its reasoning for the change and pointed to the need for strong policies like paid sick leave to make it easier for people to self-isolate.

“We need to maintain the good habits that many of us have developed over the last two years. We need to put it in perspective and think about COVID as an infectious disease and think about our common sense approaches for taking personal responsibility when we might be sick with an infectious disease — if it’s the flu or strep throat or pink eye.”

As for workplaces, employers can still require their staff to notify them if they test positive and to isolate, according to Roger Lepage, a lawyer at Miller Thomson LLP in Regina who specializes in employment and labour law.

“They still have the obligation to provide a safe work environment for their employees and therefore, that would include infectious diseases coming on the premises,” he said.

Lepage said the province ending its isolation mandate does make it more difficult for employers to impose their own policy, but that it all comes down to balancing people’s rights.

“There’s a good argument that an employer can make but it’s not failsafe. I mean if somebody really wants to challenge it, yeah, they could try to challenge it, but that’s part of life, right? It’s a question of measuring risks.”

Epidemiologist Nazeem Muhajarine told CTV News he believes it’s too soon to remove the isolation requirement.

He said people should consider isolating for up to seven to 10 days and until their rapid test comes back negative.

In a statement to CTV News, the Ministry of Health said it is still recommended that anyone who has a respiratory virus, like Influenza or COVID, stay home.

“As we shift to living with COVID-19, there is also a continuing need for personal responsibility for self-monitoring, self-testing and self-management. It will be important for individuals to assess their own risk and comfort levels, and to take appropriate action if they are unwell,” the statement read.