Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said now is not the time for complacency as the province reported its fewest new novel coronavirus cases in almost a month.
Health officials reported Monday two new cases in the province in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 300.
It is the fewest new cases reported over a 24 hour period since March 16, when one case was reported.
Another 14 people have recovered, health officials said, bringing the total recoveries to 178.
According to the Saskatchewan Health Authority, a recovery is applied when a person is discharged from the hospital or when their home isolation has been lifted.
Home isolation is lifted 14 days after the onset of first symptoms provided the individual does not have a fever and have improved clinically or 48 hours after symptoms have significantly resolved — whichever is later, health officials said.
There are now more recoveries than active cases, with 118 active cases across the province, the lowest number of active cases in the province since March 27, Moe said.
Active cases are total cases less recoveries and deaths.
Moe said the newest numbers are reason for cautious optimism as they work toward lifting restrictions in the province.
“It means that we can start to think about what the process of reopening Saskatchewan will look like,” Moe said.
Moe said the reopening will proceed cautiously and under the advice of the province’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab.
“We will be working on developing our reopen Saskatchewan plan throughout this week in close consultation with Dr. Shahab,” he said.
“And I expect to release it at some point next week if our case numbers continue to hold steady where they are.”
Shahab said there are a number of considerations to factor in before lifting any restrictions.
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“I would say that we would need to see a constant or some period of time,” Shahab said.
“We are starting to see that constant, but in saying that, we are only one outbreak away from interrupting those numbers.”
Moe said, however, that no one should read anything into comments he or Shahab made about reopening the economy in phases.
“In no way is the plan we are starting to discuss complacent, in no way is it going to be in place tomorrow,” Moe said.
He said contact tracing will play an important role in any plan to reopen a portion of the economy and to see how the numbers have changed.
“If they do not change, or change very little, then we would look a second phase, and then sit and test and contact trace and see what impact that has on our economy,” Moe said.
“So we are identifying what areas would be lowest risk for us to move on in the early days, and then there are other areas where we may not be able to move on for a number of months or until ultimately when we get a vaccine.”
Seven people are in hospital — six in Saskatoon, one in Regina and one in the north — with no one in intensive care.
Four people in the province have died from COVID-19-related causes — one each in Saskatoon, Regina, the central region and the north region.
Health officials have linked 131 cases in the province to travel, with 120 due to close contacts or mass gatherings. Another 27 are the result of local exposure that are unidentifiable and 22 remain under investigation.
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The Saskatoon region continues to have the most reported cases at 147, 58 that are considered active and 88 recovered.
Regina has 65 total cases, with 28 active and 36 recovered.
In the north, there are 15 active cases and 40 recoveries, with 56 total cases.
The south region has 15 total cases, nine active and six recoveries, the central region 10 total cases, three active and six recovered, and the far north has seven confirmed cases, five active and two recovered.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority is bringing in additional new measures to lessen the risk of COVID-19 spreading to health care facilities.
“(That includes) continuous masking of staff at long term care facilities, as well as our acute care facilities,” Moe said.
“We’ll have mandatory health care screening, which will include temperature checks both pre- and post-shift. And the Saskatchewan Health Authority is finalizing its procedures to minimize staff movement between our facilities.”
Saskatchewan health officials said 19,804 total tests have now been performed, although the number of people tested over the last 24 hours was 528.
It is the fewest number of people tested since March 31. Officials did not say why the number of people tested dropped.
Moe has said he wants 1,000 tests performed daily, rising to 1,500 by the end of the month.
“We have been increasing our number of tests and testing capacity over the course of the recent days by deploying GeneXpert testing machines to a number of locations throughout the province,” Moe said, adding that swabs don’t have to be submitted to the Roy Romanow Provincial Laboratory in Regina.
“This should help us achieve our goal of 1,500 tests per day by the end of the month.”
Moe said testing capacity will also be increased when the SHA receives its new Spartan Biosciences testing equipment, and the province receives 46,000 additional Spartan tests from the federal government’s collective order.
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Health officials caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are legally obligated to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning March 26, in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others. Some provinces and territories have also implemented additional recommendations or enforcement measures to ensure those returning to the area self-isolate.
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.
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