Saskatchewan premier says province could have acted sooner on renewed COVID-19 rules
On the day Saskatchewan asked the federal government for help to deal with surging COVID-19 hospitalizations, Premier Scott Moe granted the province could have acted sooner on a renewed mask mandate or proof-of-vaccination policy.
Health officials also announced that six intensive care patients were being sent to Ontario to relieve overwhelmed staff. The first patient was to go to Ottawa on Monday and another five were to be sent to Ontario by Wednesday.
The province said each patient transfer would cost at least $20,000 and the government would also pay to have two family members go with each patient.
"This is being done to ensure they continue to receive the very best possible care that is available," Moe said at a news conference.
When asked about his handling of the pandemic's fourth wave, Moe said: "Potentially we could have moved a week sooner with a mask mandate, or even sooner with the vaccination policy that we brought into place."
Masks in indoor public places were brought back Sept. 17 and proof of vaccination became necessary Oct. 1 to get into restaurants, bars, movie theatres, gyms, concert venues and ticketed sporting events.
The office of federal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair confirmed it had received and was reviewing a formal request for assistance from the Saskatchewan Party government.
There were 124 people in the province's intensive care units Monday -- 157 per cent of normal capacity.
Saskatchewan has been running out of hospital space and staff for several weeks. Elective and urgent surgeries have been cancelled and the province has suspended its organ donation program.
About 175 health-care workers have been redeployed to ICUs across the province.
"Our teams are under significant strain and have been under those conditions for a number of weeks now," said Derek Miller, executive director of the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
"It is very stressful on our front-line teams to be able to support this level of surge for this length of time, and that's a major factor in moving ahead."
Marlo Pritchard, who is in charge of the emergency operations centre, said the province reached out to health-care jurisdictions across North America asking if staff would be available to come to Saskatchewan.
"We made requests looking for those skilled individuals and, when those ended up not being able to provide the resources we were hoping for, we now reached out to the federal government this morning," he said.
Moe had rejected assistance from the federal government, which initially offered to help Saskatchewan with its fourth wave in late September. The premier said at the time that Ottawa would likely be able to provide enough staff for two ICU beds and his province was being realistic about Ottawa's finite resources.
On Monday he said he got that number based on "taking essentially per capita of what (the federal government) sent to Alberta."
Ottawa sent eight military critical care nurses to Edmonton earlier this month.
Pritchard said it's unknown how many critical care personnel Ottawa might be able to send to Saskatchewan through the Canadian Red Cross and the military. Health Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dr. Michael Warner, clinical director of critical care at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto, said Ontario has enough resources to help Saskatchewan.
"If we don't move patients out, other patients who end up to hospital in Saskatchewan would not be able to get the care they need at all."
Saskatchewan's population is smaller than some areas of Toronto, yet its current rate of hospitalizations is worse than Ontario ever experienced, Warner said.
Saskatchewan reported a record 85 COVID-19 patients in ICUs on Monday -- the equivalent to 1,061 in Ontario, Warner said.
"At our peak in wave three, we only had 891 COVID-19 patients in our ICUs ... I don't actually know how Saskatchewan is able to cope."
On July 11, Saskatchewan removed all public health orders, including a requirement to self-isolate upon receiving a positive COVID-19 test. Warner said removing the restrictions played a role in the province's fourth wave.
For a month, health-care workers and the Saskatchewan Opposition asked the province to accept federal aid to alleviate pressure and to avoid sending patients away for treatment.
"This was entirely avoidable," NDP Leader Ryan Meili said.
"Just further evidence of a premier who refuses to take any responsibility for his own failures and his own actions."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Air France flight from Paris to Seattle lands in Iqaluit after heat smell in cabin
A plane travelling from Paris to Seattle was forced to make an emergency landing in Iqaluit after there was a heat smell in the cabin during the flight.