Sask. top doc says no more than 2-3 households should mix
Even without a provincial mandate, Saskatchewan's top doctor is urging people to keep private gatherings small and to limit mixing between households.
"I would certainly strongly recommend that this is the time when we think of all private gatherings in the home," Dr. Saqib Shahab said during a media teleconference on Monday.
Shahab is the province's chief medical health officer.
In the face of a sustained onslaught of fresh COVID-19 cases, the Saskatchewan government implemented a mandatory masking policy in September and a vaccine requirement that came into effect on Oct. 1.
However, limits on gathering sizes, like those recently requested by Saskatoon's elected officials, have so far been off the table.
Shahab said that even without a public health order, people should keep gatherings small and consistent, involving a maximum of two or three households and including only those who are fully vaccinated.
"Same goes for private events, whether it's a marriage or a funeral, keep it small, keep it safe, (wear maks) in indoor places," Shahab said.
"Only remove masks while you're eating and I recommend proof of vaccination, or negative test, even where it's not required by an order."
Shahab said that people in the province need to "remain extremely vigilant" as the weather cools off and social life again moves indoors.
There were 279 new COVID-19 cases reported on Monday with four additional deaths. Of the new reported cases, 77 per cent were identified in unvaccinated people..
As of Monday's update 335 patients were in hospital receiving treatment for COVID-19 including a record total of 85 patients in intensive care.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.