(CJME News Staff)

By CKOM News

Sask. schools to remain open despite COVID-19 concerns

Mar 15, 2020 | 11:30 AM

Saskatchewan schools are staying open for the time being in spite of concerns over the spread of COVID-19.

The province’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, made the announcement Sunday at the T.C. Douglas Building in Regina.

Shahab’s decision was based on the fact that the six presumptive cases so far in the province are all travel-related and there hasn’t been any “sustained community transmission” of the virus in the population.

“Any recommendation to close schools is based on risk assessment and made on a case-by-case basis,” Shahab said in a media release. “The decision to close schools should not be made in the absence of valid public health reasons and the benefits and risks need to be considered carefully.”

Shahab added that “there could be school closures locally on the direction of the local Medical Health Officer or more broadly on the direction of the Chief Medical Health Officer.”

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Among the factors that would lead to closures are: Evidence of sustained transmission within the community; a rapid increase of local cases; and, transmission without a known link to travel or confirmed cases.

Self-assessment tool available

The province is hoping a new online questionnaire can help ease the burden on HealthLine 811 and health-care providers when it comes to COVID-19.

On Sunday, the province added a self-assessment tool to its website.

It gives people a chance to answer questions, the responses to which will determine if they need to undergo further testing for the coronavirus.

HealthLine has been inundated with calls from residents wondering if they need to be tested.

More to come.