Re-opening Roadmap: Sunday, May 30 Set as Target Date for Step One

Released on May 9, 2021

More than 70 per cent of Saskatchewan residents age 40 and older have received their first shot of Covid-19 vaccine, surpassing the threshold for Step One of the Re-Opening Roadmap.  The province has set Sunday, May 30, three weeks from today, as the target date for the commencement of Step One.

"We are able to move forward with Step One of the Re-Opening Roadmap because so many Saskatchewan people are doing their part and getting vaccinated, and because we are all following the public health orders and guidelines to reduce the spread of COVID-19," Premier Scott Moe said.  "The road back to normal runs right through our vaccination clinics and pharmacies.  I want to thank the thousands of health care workers who are delivering those vaccine shots every day in every part of the province, and I want to thank the hundreds of thousands of Saskatchewan people who have done your part by getting vaccinated."

According to the criteria set out in the Re-Opening Roadmap, all adults ages 18+ are anticipated to have access to the COVID-19 vaccine by the target date, and the Ministry of Health will continue to monitor health system capacity.

The following changes will be made to public health orders during Step One of the Re-Opening Roadmap:

• Restaurants and bars open, maximum of six at a table, two metres or structural barriers between tables, dance floors and buffets remain closed, VLTs may re-open;
• 30 per cent of capacity or 150 people, whichever is less, at places of worship, with physical distancing between households;
• Group fitness classes involving intense training, like aerobics and spin, can resume, with three metres between participants;
• Current restrictions remain in place for retail, personal care services, event facilities, casinos, bingo halls, theatres, art galleries, libraries and recreational facilities;
• Current protocols remain in place for primary, secondary and post-secondary education and for childcare;
• Limit of 10 people at private indoor and outdoor gatherings, including household gatherings;
• Limit of 30 people at public indoor gatherings;
• Limit of 150 people at public outdoor gatherings; and 
• Current province-wide masking mandate remains in place.

"We may have reached the first re-opening target, but our vaccination targets are not slowing down," Moe said.  "In fact, they are speeding up.  Today, we are reporting our highest one-day total vaccines delivered to date - more than 13,600.  We need to get as many people as possible vaccinated as quickly as possible so we can protect ourselves and those around us and so we can move to steps two and three of re-opening soon."

Over 50 per cent of all Saskatchewan adults have now received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

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For more information, contact:

Julie Leggott
Executive Council
Regina
Phone: 306-787-3587
Email: julie.leggott@gov.sk.ca