Saskatchewan Health Advisers Call for More COVID-19 Restrictions, Again | The Canadian News

Twenty-one health officials, doctors charged with advising government leaders on how to keep people safe, wrote to Saskatchewan Health Minister Paul Merriman last week calling for more restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19.

It was his second try. They previously wrote a letter in August.

“The Saskatchewan Medical Health Officials (MHOs) would like to express our continued and growing concern about the current status of COVID-19 in our province and the lack of effectiveness of current public health measures,” he says.

“Without further action, it is very likely that we will face even higher rates of hospitalization in the coming weeks and we run the risk of collapsing the healthcare system, as well as many more preventable deaths.”

The doctors specify that they are not calling for a total closure or the closure of schools.

In the letter, dated October 21, they ask Merriman to impose collection restrictions on private indoor gatherings, specifying that the province must prohibit unvaccinated and partially vaccinated people from gathering outside their own home for 28 days. .

They also write that the government should limit capacity in venues, such as those used for weddings and funerals, to 25 percent if they only require mandatory masks and no proof of vaccination.

The letter says these restrictions should not apply if the venues require proof of vaccination.

The MHOs write that the province should require proof of vaccination in more places overall and that more places should not accept proof of a negative test.

Public medical schools must be safer to keep them open.

They also ask the government to clearly state the seriousness of the situation and encourage Saskatchewan residents to reduce the number of people they meet with.

“We understand that returning to these restrictions is not what our population wants, nor what our leaders want to contemplate, but with the health system in crisis the alternatives are much worse.”

Global News contacted Merriman’s office, as well as the Saskatchewan health ministry and Public Safety Agency, which operates the province’s COVID-19 emergency operations center.

None were immediately available for a response.

The province has not imposed new health guidelines since the letter was sent. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Scott Moe said he would not.

The letter was sent after Moe announced that the province would transfer ICU patients to Ontario.