The new measures concerning self-isolation and close contact protocols in Saskatchewan took effect on Friday.

The new measures state that those who test positive for COVID-19, whether it is via a PCR test or rapid antigen test, will be required to self-isolate for the later of five days or 48 hours after symptoms subside, regardless of vaccination status. Previously, those who were vaccinated would need to self-isolate for five days and those who were unvaccinated against COVID-19 would need to self-isolate for 10 days.

Those who are considered to be close contacts of a positive COVID-19 case will no longer be required to self-isolate, regardless of vaccination status. For parents, they will no longer be required to notify schools of a positive COVID-19 test for close contact notifications.

The move comes as the province continues to see increasing hospitalization numbers due to COVID-19. On Friday, there were 342 people in hospital with COVID-19, the most seen since the start of the pandemic in March of 2020. Of those, 34 were in intensive care.

While the provincial government is looking at relaxing the restrictions in place, doctors across the province are starting to express their concerns about the situation, noting the case numbers released daily don’t paint an accurate picture of the situation given the guidelines and recommendations on testing.

Currently, those who test positive for COVID-19 on a rapid antigen test at home are not required to take a confirmation PCR test. The provincial government’s daily updates only count new cases confirmed via PCR test. The positivity rate of those tests has averaged just over 30 percent for more than a week.

Uring the bi-weekly town hall for doctors held by the Saskatchewan Health Authority on Thursday, doctors talked about the situation, and how the doctors are recommending one thing, while it feels like the provincial government is downplaying the situation.

During the town hall on Thursday, medical health officer Dr. Johnmark Opondo explained that the current thinking amongst the medical community is that things are on an upward surge in Saskatchewan, and they are preparing for a high number of cases requiring acute care. This is due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

The deputy medical health officer for the pandemic, Dr. John Froh, pointed out during the town hall meeting that there are also concerns with the medical system being short-staffed due to healthcare workers themselves getting sick.

“We are seeing an increase across the board in illness and unexpected absenteeism, and within certain areas that are in outbreak and have a really high level, it’s very high — it’s up to 20 percent in some areas,” Dr. Froh said.

Dr. Froh also explained that with Saskatchewan having some of the most liberal policies in the country in terms of gatherings, it was known there would be a drastic increase in cases, and that is what is happening right now, and he believes that it will strain the acute care system to dangerous levels if this continues without any changes.

In their daily update released Friday afternoon, the provincial government reported there were 1,412 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 throughout Saskatchewan, with two more deaths linked to the virus. The seven-day average of new cases is now 1,287.

​​​​​​​-with files from CJME