Sask. premier urges caution for holiday travellers as Omicron variant spreads

Saskatchewan’s premier is encouraging residents with holiday travel plans to be cautious, as the Omicron variant spreads throughout Canada – and the world.

“If they're going to be traveling either provincially or internationally, we would say first and foremost exercise caution in your travels,” Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said Thursday.

“You should assume that Omicron is present wherever you are in the world, as you should assume that Omicron is present here in our Saskatchewan community.”

International travel is allowed out of Canada, but the federal government is advising travellers against non-essential trips.

“To those who are planning to travel, I say very clearly, now is not the time to travel. The rapid spread of the Omicron variant on a global scale makes us fear the worst for Canadians that may think of travelling,” Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said Wednesday.

Provincially, Moe is following suit and is not implementing any additional provincial travel restrictions on top of the existing federal measures.

“We feel strongly that we have some of the most robust protocols available in any country or any place in the world when it comes to not only international travel, but also interprovincial travel,” Moe said

NDP leader Ryan Meili said he is “deeply concerned about the growth of the Omicron variant across the country.”

“What now does the increase in Omicron cases across the country and the risk for Saskatchewan mean for what we’re likely to see in the weeks ahead?” Meili said.

“Slowing down the virus is also very important. We have yet to hear any plans for further public health restrictions from the government.”

Moe said the booster dose eligibility expansion, announced Thursday, is a tool Saskatchewan residents who are planning to travel over the holidays should use.

“It is a great line of defense against all COVID variants, including Omicron,” Moe said.

As of Dec. 20, anyone 18 years and older will be eligible to receive a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

The premier also encouraged residents – travelling or not – to make use of COVID-19 rapid tests, outside of the mandated tests needed for domestic and international air travel.

Saskatchewan has confirmed five cases of the Omicron variant as of Thursday, but Moe said the virus is likely spreading in the province already.

“We’re seeing community spread in other provinces across this nation, and I think as of today and moving forward, us in this province of Saskatchewan should also assume that community spread is happening in our province, and we should conduct ourselves accordingly,” Moe.

Health officials are in the process of creating new modelling that accounts for the Omicron variant, but Moe was unsure when it would be ready to be presented to the public.

“There’s some difficulty with incorporating what Omicron will ultimately do to the modelling, but they are working on their best estimates with respect to what that might look like,” Moe said.

“I don’t know when they’ll actually have it in a form where they might want to deliver it to the public, but Dr. [Saqib] Shahab most assuredly is looking at what’s happing in, not only other areas of the world, but other areas of Canada.”

As of Thursday, 304 cases of the Omicron variant have been detected across Canada, with Ontario accounting for 152.

With files from CTVNews.ca