The current public health orders in Saskatchewan are set to expire on November 30, but they will likely be extended once again.

Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab has recommended that current public health orders remain in place for another 4-6 weeks.

Premier Scott Moe says a final decision has not been made yet, but said the recent public health orders have been successful. “I think that all indications are they’re very effective, they’re dropping our numbers, dropping our hospitalizations and ultimately for the foreseeable future.”

As we head into the holiday season, the Premier believes that the province is in a much better place as compared to last year with about 86% of the province having received at least one dose of the vaccine and about 80% of the province now fully vaccinated. Moe added, “We do have some measures that have been in place for over a month now that have proven to be quite effective. I think for all intent and purposes, we’ll confirm this in a few weeks, we’ll see those measures likely continue for at least through the Christmas season and we’ll reassess at that point.”

NDP Leader Ryan Meili says that he is happy to see our case numbers dropping and that it would be premature to lift the orders before the new year. “Hopefully that will be when we will be able to pull these things back, but to do it prematurely is just too dangerous, in terms of any added restrictions, I’ll be watching what the numbers are doing, I’m pleased to see they are dropping the way they are and hopefully that will continue.”

The Premier has indicated that over the next couple weeks, meetings involving Dr. Shahab and Health Minister Paul Merriman will occur before a final decision is made.