Esterhazy taking measures to combat rising COVID-19 cases
As COVID-19 cases in southeastern Saskatchewan rise, the town of Esterhazy has introduced temporary measures to slow community transmission.
The move to close all locations to the community came on Oct. 7.
“We wanted to close down the town office and any of the facilities that would be open to the community as a precautionary measure,” said Mike Thorley, chief administrative officer of the town of Esterhazy.
As of Thursday, the Central East subzone 5, which includes Esterhazy has 92 active cases, among the 19,000 people who live in the area.
Based on population estimates from the government of Saskatchewan’s COVID-19 dashboard, 60,876 Central East residents are fully vaccinated, making up approximately 63.1 per cent of the 96,478 people living in the region.
Overall, the Central East zone accounts for 334 of Saskatchewan’s 4,294 active COVID-19 cases. The zone currently has the fifth-highest active case count in the province.
“There has been an overflow of COVID-19 in our area not classified as a hotspot,” explained Thorley. “But there are problems where our hospitals were getting full and our school was being closed down.”
Esterhazy has extended the closure to Oct. 18.
The high school is set to return to in-person learning, following confirmation of 22 positive cases.
“As a school division we have been struggling to maintain face to face instruction in Esterhazy,” said Quintin Robertson director of education for the Good Spirit School Division.
The school division said it supports the town's decision to implement temporary closures.
“It certainly brings to light the severity of the situation in the community and surrounding areas,” said Robertson. “We certainly appreciate the leadership that the town has taken we will support them 100 per cent as a school division to ensure that were doing our part to keep students staff and community safe”.
The feedback from residents has been mostly positive
“I think it was necessary at this point in the game. We've been floating along the last few months,” said Marie Baker, Esterhazy resident. “I think it was a very hard decision for them to make but I think it will benefit the community in the long run”.
A total of 35 people from the Central East have died after testing positive for COVID-19, including one death reported Thursday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.