While the Saskatchewan government is hopeful that our COVID-19 numbers have peaked, it will likely take months before they level out.

Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab discussed the province’s COVID-19 modelling data and the possible scenarios Saskatchewan could be faced with.

Shahab says it will take some time before the overall cases number begin to drop. “In my view I think we need to remain extremely cautious until ICU and hospitalization numbers come down and that will take several weeks, if not months.”

According to the provincial modelling data, if no further action is taken in terms of public health orders including mask usage, social distancing and booster shots for those who are eligible, it will take more than four months before ICU numbers reach sustainable levels.

The Chief Medical Health Officer notes that people who are unvaccinated are six times more likely to get COVID-19 compared to those who are fully vaccinated, 13 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 28 times more likely to end up in an ICU.

77 % of transmission of COVID-19 is from households or other community settings and just over 48 % of all COVID-19 admissions to Saskatchewan hospitals had their first positive COVID test on or after admission to the hospital.

Over the next few weeks, Shahab recommends that individuals limit the amount of contact with other households without using a mask, adults over the age of 60 get a booster shot and for unvaccinated individuals to become fully vaccinated in order to help push the case numbers down in the province.

It’s everyone responsibility to follow along with the proper protocols according to Shahab. “We can blame lack of public health orders, lack of government action and that maybe true to some extent. Ultimately it is up to all of us because even in the present public health orders the level of compliance needs to be high in the household.”