COVID-19 Information for Saskatchewan Seniors

2020-03-27
  • Reduced minimum withdrawals for Registered Retirement Income Funds
  • Supporting the delivery of items and personal outreach
    • $9 million through United Way Canada for local organizations to support practical services to Canadian seniors. These services could include the delivery of groceries, medications, or other needed items, or personal outreach to assess individuals’ needs and connect them to community supports.
    • https://www.unitedway.ca/how-we-help/find-your-uwc/
  • Providing immediate and essential services to seniors
    • organizations who received funding under the 2019-2020 New Horizons for Seniors Program community-based stream will be able to use their funding to provide immediate and essential services to seniors impacted by COVID-19. Activities can start immediately and can include:
      • supporting seniors in staying connected with their community and family by providing electronic devices, virtual activities and remote tutorials;
      • supporting the delivery of food and medication to self-isolated seniors at home;
      • assisting seniors to undertake essential activities, such as visits to the doctor;
      • hiring staff to replace a loss of a senior volunteer due to the outbreak;
      • providing information to seniors regarding how to care for themselves during the pandemic.
      • https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/new-horizons-seniors.html

Updated Saskatchewan Public Health orders can be accessed here:

On March 20, 2020, the Chief Medical Health Officer updated the public health order under The Public Health Act to further reduce the risk of potential COVID-19 transmission in the province. At the same time, Premier Scott Moe signed an order pursuant to the provincial State of Emergency directing that all orders of the government and Chief Medical Health Officer must be followed and that law enforcement agencies in Saskatchewan have the full authority to enforce those orders.

In consultation with the Minister of Health,  effective immediately, visitors to long-term care homes, hospitals, personal care homes, and group homes shall be restricted to family visiting for compassionate reasons.

Mandatory Self-Isolation

  • Effective immediately, all persons who have travelled internationally shall go into mandatory self-isolation for 14 days from date of arrival back into Canada.
  • Health Care workers who have traveled internationally, truckers, rail, airline or other working crews are exempt from this advisory only if they are required to work to maintain essential services, provide emergency health care services and maintain supply chain, and are supervised by Infection, Prevention Control Officers and/or Occupational Health and Safety in the workplace.
  • All persons who have been identified by a Medical Health Officer as a close contact of a person or persons with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) shall go into mandatory self-isolation for 14 days from the date of last having been exposed to COVID-19.
  • All persons who have become symptomatic while on mandatory self-isolation shall call HealthLine 811 and follow HealthLine’s directives.
  • All persons who are household members of a person having laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 shall immediately go into mandatory self-isolation, call HealthLine 811 and follow HealthLine’s directives.

The following measures were effective March 23, 2020:

  • The closure of restaurants, food courts, cafeterias, cafes, bistros and similar facilities. Exceptions are take-out with two-metre distancing between customers during pick-up; drive-through food services; delivery of food products; soup kitchens, not-for-profit community and religious kitchens with two-metre distancing between tables.
  • The closure of all recreational and entertainment facilities including fitness centers, casinos, bingo halls, arenas, curling rinks, swimming pools, galleries, theatres, museums and similar facilities.
  • The closure of all personal service facilities including tattooists, hairdressers, barbers, acupuncturists, acupressurists, cosmetologists, electrologists, estheticians, manicurists, pedicurists, suntanning parlours, relaxation masseuses, and facilities in which body piercing, bone grafting or scarification services are performed.
  • The closure of dental, optometrist, chiropractic, registered massage therapy and podiatry clinics except for non-elective procedures.
  • All daycare facilities are limited to maximum of eight children unless they can configure the facility so that a maximum of eight children are kept in room and be in accordance with the Saskatchewan child care guidelines for care.
  • All daycares that are co-located with a long-term care or personal care home that meet the above restriction shall be segregated with a private entrance so that there are no shared common areas with the home and no interaction between daycare children and residents of the facility.