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home / 世界杯决赛2022

saskatchewan's second year of covid-19 marked by vaccinations, crises

the province obliterated the metrics established during the first year of the pandemic and endured a strain on the health-care system.

by phil tank

dec 27 2021
read time 5 minute read
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the first year of the covid-19 pandemic was challenging in saskatchewan, but in the second year the situation became dire on several fronts, despite the start of mass vaccinations.
stats soar
saskatchewan finished 2020 with 15,530 diagnosed cases of covid-19 and 153 deaths. active cases peaked at 4,763 in december and the highest number of patients in hospital hit 182.
all of these metrics, used to measure the pandemic’s severity, would be obliterated in 2021.
total diagnosed cases soared past 80,000 in mid-november and the brutal fourth wave included a new high for active cases (4,864 in september) and hospitalizations (356 in october).
the cumulative death toll topped 900 in november, boosted by the deadliest month of the pandemic with 156 deaths reported in october.
saskatchewan had experienced a surge in cases and deaths in january, unlike other provinces that introduced restrictions earlier to limit the spread of the virus during the 2020 holiday season.
the province tightened restrictions in regina and nearby communities in the spring after a spike attributed to the first covid-19 variant, now called alpha.
cases and deaths declined in july, but began to rise in august due to the more transmissible delta variant. the delta-driven fourth wave in september and october set saskatchewan apart from most of the rest of canada.
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on oct. 7, saskatchewan reported 650 cases, the highest daily count of the pandemic.

by the time the fourth wave subsided, saskatchewan’s covid-19 death rate per 100,000 people (79) ranked above the national average, behind only quebec (135) and manitoba (97).

saskatchewan’s total case rate per 100,000 (6,909) trailed only alberta and rose well above the national average (4,755).
crisis of care
covid-19 hospitalizations peaked at 238 in february, which was then a pandemic high, and then to 206 as cases soared in regina and area in april.
but the fourth wave resembled a tsunami for health care in saskatchewan.
hospitalizations rose above 250 in september and stayed there for more than a month, peaking at 356. the number of covid-19 patients in hospital stayed above 300 for most of october, prompting suspension of many other health-care services.
the number of patients receiving intensive care in october rose to a new high of 85, and 27 patients were sent to ontario. six of the transferred patients died.

near the end of september, health minister paul merriman at a news conference tried to reassure saskatchewan residents: “the health-care system is still intact.”

that he felt obligated to make that statement illustrates how dire the situation became during the fourth wave. but at the same news conference, merriman refused to refer to the situation as a crisis, saying the word means “different things to different people.”
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meanwhile, appearing with merriman, the province’s chief medical health officer, dr. saqib shahab, warned of a “fall and winter of misery” if case counts failed to decline.
scott livingstone, who was then ceo of the saskatchewan health authority, had warned earlier in september that a suspension of non-urgent surgeries and procedures to devote more resources to covid-19 patients would “affect every single resident of the province.”
livingstone also said dealing with the fourth wave presented the greatest challenge the sha had faced. earlier this month, it was revealed livingstone had “left” his position.
mass vax lacks
the first covid-19 vaccines arrived in saskatchewan in december 2020, and the campaign to reach herd immunity through vaccination began in earnest this year.
a year ago, premier scott moe depicted getting vaccinated “not just for ourselves but for others” as “the saskatchewan way.”
but saskatchewan struggled to keep up with the rest of canada, with one of the highest rates of resistance to vaccines in the country. at the end of november, it remained second last among provinces, ahead of only alberta, as it has for much of the period during which vaccination rates were tracked.

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saskatchewan’s fully vaccinated rate for people 12 and older reached 82.7 per cent, well back of the national average of 86.4 per cent. neighbouring manitoba hit 87.1 per cent.
in terms of the entire population, saskatchewan ranked last among provinces, the only one still below 70 per cent, while the national average neared 76 per cent.
the approval of vaccines for children aged five to 11 offered an opportunity to reduce this gap; uptake surged after child vaccinations began in november. in two weeks, nearly a third of this age group got a first dose.
yet more than a quarter of a million people remained completely unvaccinated as of early december.

in october, moe blasted “ridiculous” covid-19 conspiracy theories as partly responsible for the lagging vaccination rate and deaths. but critics, including the ndp opposition, interpreted messages from the government as tacit approval of anti-vaccination groups and misinformation.

regretful response
when moe outlined the province’s plan to remove pandemic restrictions, he stressed the approach would proceed based on “data not dates.”

but the saskatchewan party government was widely criticized for its response to the fourth wave and ignoring the advice of medical professionals calling for measures to stop the spread.

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when cases rose in regina and nearby communities in the spring, the government imposed some of the harshest restrictions of the pandemic.
as cases declined, moe outlined a three-step plan to lift all remaining restrictions, contingent on vaccination rates. despite missing the final target by thousands of vaccinations, moe announced all restrictions would be lifted july 11.

as cases rose throughout the summer, merriman said the province would consider requests for more restrictions from medical health officers. yet such a request from the officers in the northern half of the province was rejected.

the province’s northern half endured canada’s worst case surge for weeks, well into the fall.

despite rising cases, hospitalizations and deaths, moe stood his ground against both a return to face coverings in indoor public spaces and a  proof of vaccination system.

as recently as sept. 10, moe dismissed both measures, calling vaccination proof “a very divisive path.”
six days later, he announced an immediate mask mandate and a proof of vaccination or negative test system for non-essential venues starting on oct. 1.
moe would later apologize and admit he regretted not taking action sooner.

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at the start of december, the active case rate in saskatchewan had dropped to the fourth lowest among provinces, as did the new case rate, both well below the canadian averages.
pandemic restrictions were extended to the end of january.
ptank@postmedia.com
twitter.com/thinktanksk
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