The Government of Saskatchewan released this message with the daily totals, and it does bare repeating. There is no doubt that there are people in every corner of the province who look at the active case numbers and think “It’s not so bad here, we’ll be fine.” However, it is that mindset that could prove to be the undoing of all the hard work in the spring. Yesterday, the Alberta Chief Medical Health Officer Hinshaw said, “This needs to be a wake-up call, I am very concerned by these numbers.” On July 9^th Alberta had 519 active cases, yesterday the number had risen to nearly 1300. She attributed the continued rise in numbers to a “collective fatigue” after months of public health restrictions and the same could become the story in Saskatchewan.

“It has been more than four months since COVID-19 arrived in Saskatchewan and many people are tired or frustrated with the continued state of cautiousness.  If you are feeling well or don’t know anyone who has gotten sick, it is easy to think that you do not need to be careful.  However, the recent surge in COVID-19 in all regions of Saskatchewan shows that we cannot become complacent.  There is no region in Saskatchewan without active cases.  Personal protective measures protect you, your friends and family.

For the health and safety of your community, act as if there is a risk of coming into contact with COVID-19 anytime you go in public or meet with friends.  We have seen from our past case numbers that Saskatchewan residents know what needs to be done to reduce transmission: wash your hands often, keep gatherings small and with the same group of people, maintain a physical distance of two metres and wear a mask anywhere where you cannot maintain physical distancing.  We all have a responsibility to follow these guidelines.  If we all do our part to keep ourselves and others safe, we will be able to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan again.”

As of July 24, there are 27 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan, bringing the total to 1,099 cases (235 are considered active); 189 total cases (active and recovered) in the southwest region: 172 of these are on 11 colonies and 17 are in the general community.  In west central region, there are 93 total cases (active and recovered): 76 are on 10 colonies and 17 are in the general community.

One number in the daily report that does not seem to be registering on people’s radar is the number of cases from which there was no known exposure. These are the random cases that just seem to appear out of nowhere, but that is not the case. These are the numbers that show community transmission, very likely from asymptomatic carriers who are not following the public health recommendations. As of July 24^th, out of the total number of cases in the province 216 are identified as having no known exposure. While this number might leave some to say that it is only one fifth of the total number, it is how that number has changed over the past two weeks. As of July 10^th, there were 115 cases reported as stemming from no known exposure, by July 16^th that number still only sat at 134, but fast forward another six days to July 22^nd and that number jumps to 184, and sits today July 24^th at 216. This trend shows that the spread of COVID-19 is not just the fault of people gathering in large numbers. COVID-19 is on the move and all residents should act to protect not only themselves but their loved ones who may be more vulnerable than themselves.