(The Canadian Press)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Milestone

Two years since first COVID case in Saskatchewan: then versus now

Mar 12, 2022 | 10:00 AM

It’s officially been two years since the first case of COVID-19 popped up in Saskatchewan.

On Mar. 12, 2020, Saskatoon became the first community to experience the virus as a man in his 60s tested positive after returning from a trip to Egypt.

The northern part of the province only had to wait two days for its first case, though it wasn’t in any of the major cities, rather the small community of Southend located around 220 km northeast of La Ronge.

In the days following, other communities started experiencing their first cases. This includes Prince Albert which saw its first case on Mar. 20, 2020.

The first restriction was brought in just one day after the first case as the province limited gathering sizes. In just over a week later, schools across Saskatchewan closed their doors.

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A state of emergency was officially declared on Mar. 18, 2020.

On Mar. 30, 2020, the province experienced its first COVID-related deaths. They turned out to be two people in their 70s.

Two Years Later

COVID hasn’t disappeared from Saskatchewan, but the restrictions have.

On Feb. 14, 2022, the provincial government lifted the vaccine policy with the mask mandate lasting just another two weeks.

Despite this cases continue to pop up.

In the province’s latest weekly report released on Mar. 10, 2022, there were over 1,000 cases and 13 deaths.

Over the past three weeks, the north-central region, which includes P.A., has had 21 deaths which is the most across Saskatchewan.

As for what the last two years have been like for the province, one study suggests many believe it’s brought out the worst in everybody.

—

Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow