Premier Scott Moe announced Thursday the province will get a head start on phase two of the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan for the long weekend, with golf courses and drive-in theatres being able to open on May 15.
Moe also said as of May 15, outfitters operating in areas not impacted by current travel restrictions are able to begin their operations. 鈥淥ur goal is to actually remove these restrictions that are in place,鈥� said Moe. 鈥淲e can only do so when we are achieving that collective success across the province.鈥�
The province is set to go into phase two of the plan on May 19. The phase will include reopening retail businesses, shopping malls, select personal services including hairstylists/barbers, massage therapists and acupuncturists, along with farmers markets and public markets.
Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said the more the province continues to avoid mass gatherings and practises social distancing, the more successful the province will be with moving forward with the remaining phases of the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan.
鈥淲e have to be diligent and disciplined about physical distancing and avoiding large gatherings,鈥� said Shahab. 鈥淭hat allows us to then move cautiously and systematic with our future phases.鈥�
Shahab said the province wants to give at least two weeks in between phases to ensure numbers remain low and contained.
Moe explained that as the province continues to reopen, increases in COVID-19 testing are crucial to minimizing inevitable localized outbreaks. 鈥淲e need to do more testing so that we can jump on these cases sooner and have a lower number of people to actually contact trace,鈥� said Moe. 鈥淚n doing so, our outbreaks should be smaller in nature and reduce the risk of them actually expanding to be a province-wide outbreak.鈥�
To date, the provincial total for COVID-19 cases is 582. Of those cases, 178 are considered active, 398 have recovered and six have died. Currently there are 10 people in hospital with three being treated in intensive care in Saskatoon.
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