Proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or a negative test result is now required for the public to access a variety of businesses and venues in Saskatchewan.
Requirements came into effect Friday after the province reported over 600 new cases and 10 deaths from COVID-19 complications on Thursday.
Proof of vaccination will not be asked for at retail businesses like grocery stores, places of worship, fast food restaurants which offer takeout and delivery, private indoor gatherings and hotels.
Children under the age of 12 are also exempt from the requirements.
The province reminds the public that indoor masking is still in effect for all indoor public venues.
Which public spaces are asking for proof
Multiple businesses, event venues and establishments will request proof of vaccination or negative test result for public access.
The public health order states that the rule will apply mainly to non-essential businesses such as restaurants, including restaurants in hotels and other lodgings that are not considered fast food restaurants, along with nightclubs, bars, taverns, party buses and other places where alcohol is served.
Event and entertainment venues that will require proof include:
- theatres
- cinemas
- bingo halls, casinos and other gaming establishments
- concerts
- live-music venues
- fitness centres and gyms
- standalone liquor and cannabis retail sales locations
- facilities hosting sporting events where tickets are required that have GST charged on the ticket
The government says proof will not be required for fast food businesses, whether individuals are dining indoors or outdoors, since “the length of stay is typically shorter than for indoor dining at restaurants.”
Proof will also not be needed when visiting food courts in malls.
What’s acceptable for proof documents
The Saskatchewan government says there are a number of options that work as acceptable proof of vaccination when visiting businesses, events and other public spaces.
Residents are able to download a QR code vaccine certificate from their MySaskHealthRecord account.
The certificate can either be printed off or be shown on a mobile device as a screenshot or on the SK Vax Wallet phone app. However, the app is not yet available on Android devices.
According to eHealth Saskatchewan, the app may not be ready for another several days for Android users.
Other options include vaccination wallet cards provided at the time of immunizations or a COVID-19 vaccination printout from the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA).
Providing proof of negative test
Saskatchewan will also accept proof of a negative COVID-19 test result for individuals who don’t have vaccination proof, however, test results will need to from within the last 72 hours.
The government says self-administered take-home rapid antigen test will not be accepted as valid proof of a negative test result.
The SHA is also no longer supporting testing for asymptomatic individuals at public testing sites, which means costs of asymptomatic testing will be the responsibility of the individual.
There are a variety of options to provide a negative test result such as rapid antigen tests or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests charged for a fee. A list of locations offering testing services can be found at the provincial government website.
Medical exemptions for vaccination proof
Dr. Saqib Shahab, the chief medical health officer for Saskatchewan, said less than one per cent of the population would quality for medical exemptions when providing proof of vaccination.
Many questions are still circulating on this front, however, according to the Saskatchewan College of Physicians and Surgeons, the only reasons why doctors should write a vaccine exemption are for a severe allergy or anaphylactic reaction, and the other is a rare heart condition.
Individuals who choose not to be vaccinated due to personal reasons are not exempt under the human rights code, according to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. However, the commission says there are some people who cannot accept the vaccine due to a reason protected by the code.
The Ministry of Health also shared with Global News that other exemptions could be determined with medical practitioner consultation.
With files from The Canadian Press and Taz Dhaliwal