As the government has stated, life is about to get tougher for those who are not vaccinated in Saskatchewan starting Friday.

As of 12:01 a.m, you will need proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test result to have public access to a wide range of businesses and event venues.

This order applies primarily to non-essential businesses such as:

• Restaurants, including restaurants in hotels or other lodgings that are not fast food restaurants
• Nightclubs, bars, taverns, party buses and other establishments that serve alcohol under the authority of The Alcohol and Gaming Regulation Act, 1997.

Event and entertainment venues including:

• theatres;
• cinemas;
• bingo halls, casinos and other gaming establishments;
• concerts;
• live-music venues;
• fitness centres and gyms;
• standalone liquor and cannabis retail sales locations; and
• facilities hosting sporting events where tickets are required that have GST charged on the ticket.

Businesses or organizations exempt from this order include:

• retail businesses including grocery stores;
• off-sale liquor stores and liquor stores located in other retail stores (excluding standalone liquor and cannabis retail);
• places of worship (including weddings/funerals/wakes);
• personal services, health care services, professional services;
• public libraries;
• hotels or lodging including self-serve food options located within the hotel or other lodging;
• facilities hosting amateur sporting events, including youth athletics and recreational leagues;
• private gatherings at public venues (weddings/funerals/wakes/meetings); and
• private gatherings at private residences.

Proof of Vaccination

Businesses and organizations have several options for checking acceptable proof of vaccination. These include:

• A QR code/MySaskHealthRecord vaccine certificate either printed or on the patron’s mobile device as a screenshot or in SK Vax Wallet;
• A printed hard copy of MySaskHealthRecord vaccine certificate with or without a QR code;
• Wallet cards issued at the time of vaccinations; and
• A COVID-19 vaccination printout from Saskatchewan Health Authority Public Health.

Proof of a Negative Test

Individuals who do not have proof of vaccination have the option of providing proof of a negative COVID-19 test result from within the previous 72 hours.

A self-administered take-home rapid antigen test will not be accepted as valid proof of negative COVID-19 results and the SHA is no longer supporting testing for asymptomatic individuals at the public testing sites, preserving resources to test symptomatic and other at-risk populations.

The cost for all proof of negative test results for asymptomatic testing will be your responsibility. Those requiring a negative test result have several private options on the market that will provide a rapid antigen test or a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for a fee.