SIGA casinos reopen with COVID-19 precautions
All seven Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority casinos opened to the public Sunday.
Step Two of the province’s reopening plan increased the maximum capacity 150 people, thus allowing the casinos to reopen.
In Prince Albert, 115 staff are back to work at the Northern Lights Casino after being off since Dec. 19 2020, general manager Richard Ahenakew said.
“We are happy to have our staff back and happy to have our patrons back,” said Ahenakew.
He says they’ve made some changes to the floor plan and are following all COVID-19 protocols outlined by the province.
“A lot of the machines have dividers in between them, and/or ATMs have dividers in the front. And we have hand sanitizing stations throughout the casino,” Ahenakew said.
He says they aren’t serving any alcohol or food on the floor at this time but the restaurant and deli are open.
Once a casino reaches capacity, patrons can put their name and phone number on a waiting list and staff notifies them when it’s their turn to come.
There’s also a pop-up COVID-19 vaccine clinic near the main entrance of the casino by Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation Health Services.
“They approached us to set it up here because it's visible to traffic - everybody drives by on Marquis Drive,” said Ahenakew.
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