(Twitter/Scott Moe)

By Lara Fominoff/650 CKOM News

Moe says gathering restrictions possible with Omicron cases rising

Dec 23, 2021 | 3:54 PM

Saskatchewan could see gathering restrictions implemented sometime next week as Omicron cases continue to rise, Premier Scott Moe said Thursday.

Moe made the statement during a two-minute speech posted to Twitter.

He called the increase in Omicron cases in the province a “challenging situation.”

“Some people are wondering why our government has not enacted additional health measures like we are seeing in many other provinces,” Moe said. “Well, I can say that we are tracking this situation very closely, and we have not ruled out some additional measures around large gathering sizes potentially being introduced in the next week.”

Alberta, B.C., Ontario and Quebec all have implemented significant measures in recent days as the numbers of COVID cases have risen sharply. Quebec, for example, reported nearly 9,400 cases Thursday.

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Saskatchewan also has seen a sharp rise in COVID cases over the past week, with 194 new cases reported on Thursday — the highest daily total since late October.

To date, there have been 148 confirmed and/or probable cases of the Omicron variant detected in Saskatchewan. That total was up about 50 per cent from Wednesday’s total of 96.

Moe says so far, Omicron cases have been milder in Saskatchewan and COVID-related hospitalizations are at their lowest level since August.

According to the provincial COVID-19 dashboard, there were 87 people in hospitals in Saskatchewan. Twenty-nine of those were in the ICU.

“Case counts are definitely rising and they will continue to rise in the days ahead,” he said. “However, if serious cases and hospitalizations remain low and manageable, we do not want to go back to shutting down activities, restricting businesses in our communities and taking away your personal freedoms.”

Once again, Moe urged people to get vaccinated if they haven’t already been, to get their booster doses if they’re eligible and to pick up rapid tests as well.

“We should be concerned about Omicron, but not panicked,” he said. “COVID is going to be with us for a while in one form or another, but we can all live our lives safely and we can do the things we enjoy if we are careful and do a few simple things differently.”

The province will not be reporting COVID case numbers for the next four days. A cumulative total is to be released next Tuesday.