Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says most of the new coronavirus cases reported in the province over the past few days are from Hutterite communities, but he suggests there’s reason for optimism.
Moe says in a tweet Sunday that of the 97 new cases reported over the previous four days, 87 are from Hutterite communities.
But the same time, Moe tweeted that many of the Hutterite communities with earlier outbreaks are now down to almost no active cases, so he says the efforts of those communities working closely with the province’s health authority are working.
Last month, Moe called on Hutterite communities to adjust their communal living lifestyle and follow public health advice to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The premier noted Sunday that COVID-19 case numbers are still low in many parts of Saskatchewan, including the far north, which he says now has no active cases after a major outbreak a few weeks ago.
Saskatchewan announced on the weekend two new deaths from COVID-19, both of whom were over 80.
“We all have to keep our guard up, but what you are doing is working, so keep it up. Together, we can control the spread of COVID-19,” Moe tweeted Sunday, while also offering condolences to the families of the disease’s latest victims.
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In total, 22 people have died from COVID-19 in the province.
In late July, the Hutterian Safety Council said it had been working with Saskatchewan colonies for months on how to deal with the pandemic and was sending the same messages as Moe.
At that time, Moe said 244 of Saskatchewan’s then-active 322 cases were in Hutterite communities, representing three-quarters of the province’s infections.
He also noted that most of the province’s 80 or so colonies were being co-operative in trying to contain the outbreak and added no one should be stigmatized because of the virus.
Manitoba has also seen outbreaks linked to Hutterite communities.
Hutterian Safety Council board chair David Tschetter told CJME radio in Regina late last week that when cases of COVID-19 were detected in communities, it showed that the Saskatchewan Health Authority was doing great work at getting access to the communities.
Tschetter continued to urge Hutterites to work with public health authorities.
“Protect your people and protect your communities. You protect your livelihood by protecting your people,” Tschetter told CJME.
“The paranoia and fear (and) the demonization of testing is bad information, it holds no water. Simply continue working with public health authorities.”
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