Key takeaways:
- In Saskatchewan, all PCR tests for COVID-19 will soon be required to be scheduled in advance through the 811 HealthLine, and eligibility will be further restricted.
- Aside from the testing changes, the province will soon end its long-standing practise of providing daily COVID-19 data.
- The province attributes the shift to the widespread availability of vaccinations and booster doses and free at-home rapid testing.
All PCR tests for COVID-19 in Saskatchewan will soon be required to be scheduled in advance thru the 811 HealthLine, and eligibility will be further restricted.
The province announced on Thursday that PCR testing would be reserved for “priority populations at elevated risk of severe outcomes,” such as:
- Patients admitted to or transferred between acute, long-term care, or personal care homes are considered hospitalized.
- Residents in long-term care, personal care homes, as well as congregate living facilities, are examples of high-risk populations as ordered by medical health officers.
- Priority symptomatic individuals include healthcare workers as well as essential workers who have a negative rapid antigen test but continue to be symptomatic.
- People were suffering from chronic illnesses.
- People who are symptomatic life or work in First Nation and Métis communities.
- Surgical patients who have symptoms or a positive rapid antigen test and are scheduled for or expecting surgery within the next 90 days.
- Patients who are pregnant.
- Immunocompromised people with symptoms, including all transplant donors
- Children born to COVID-19-positive mothers.
According to the province, the booking requirement will go into effect on Monday, February 7.
Residents who need PCR test results for travel, as proof of vaccination, or insurance claims through the Workers’ Compensation Board will now have to pay for a test through a private lab service.
Free rapid antigen tests will remain available at approximately 600 locations throughout the province.
Also read: Businesses in Saskatchewan are still unsure about the province’s plans to eliminate vaccine proof
Deaths have reached a bleak milestone.
More than 1,000 people have passed away in the province due to COVID-19.
The province reported 4 further deaths on Thursday, bringing 1,001.
In the last week, eighteen people with COVID-19 have died.
Hospitalizations also reached a new high, with 384 patients admitted, an increase of 12 from the previous day.
There are currently 36 COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) and one in neonatal/pediatric intensive care.
The count of known active cases exceeds 10,000, but this figure excludes people who tested positive on-at-home rapid tests.
The PCR test positivity rate remains higher than 30%.
The dashboard will be terminated next week.
In addition to the testing changes, the province will soon discontinue its longstanding practice of providing daily COVID-19 data.
Beginning the week of February 7, public health will discontinue its dashboard and archive all of the information it contains.
Instead, on Thursdays, the province will release weekly COVID-19 epidemiological reports.
The new weekly data will include newly confirmed laboratory-confirmed cases, deaths, tests, and vaccination information from the province and by health zone.
Hospitalizations and ICU numbers were not on the list of items to be included in the weekly updates.
Whereas the Ministry of Health stated that it would continue to report hospitalizations.
“We are currently determining how that will happen as part of the new reporting system,” according to the statement.
A shift in strategy
In a Thursday update, the Provincial Emergencies Operation Centre officials stated that the policy shift would align with how the province reacts to and reports on other infectious diseases.
Dr. Saqib Shahab, Chief Medical Health Officer, frequently compared COVID-19 to influenza.
According to the province, the shift is due to the widespread availability of vaccinations and booster doses and free at-home rapid testing.
Because of the arrival of the highly transmissible Omicron variant in Saskatchewan, contact tracing and case management protocols are less effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19, according to the province.
Outbreaks in acute care settings, long-term care, as well as integrated facilities, personal care homes, and correctional facilities will be investigated further.
On the other hand, the province claims that outbreaks are linked to public mass gatherings. Worship sites, workplaces, daycare centers, and educational institutions will no longer be investigated.
Source: CBC News
