2021 brought hope of vaccinations and herd immunity, but variants of concern and a collapsed hospital system have shown us we are in it for the long haul. Our top story of the year, as it was in 2020, was the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Moose Jaw had 33 outbreaks throughout the year. You can find the current outbreaks on the government's website.

January:

The province started to hear about the UK COVID-19 variant and Saskatchewan quickly went on the lookout. Restrictions were still in effect and strict.

Moose Jaw witnessed residents of surrounding areas, such as Regina, facing police-issued tickets for breaking restrictions. Some people who didn't agree with the restrictions and mandates started protesting. One protest formed in front of the home of Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab.

Our province's case numbers were averaging over 200 new cases per day.

February:

February 2nd reported the first 2 cases of the UK variant found in Saskatchewan. Both people were tested in mid-January and the test process took nearly 2 weeks. Both people had recovered by the time the cases were reported.

On February 4th, a third case of the variant was reported.

Around mid-February, talk about the first set of vaccines coming to Moose Jaw began to surface.

Also in February, the Moose Jaw Police released information that they had received 108 phone calls about non-compliance complaints since the public health orders had come into effect. These complaints resulted in 13 issued tickets around the community for $2,800 each.

Public health restrictions were supposed to end on February 19th but it was announced on February 16th that the restrictions were being extended until the middle of March.

February 17th, the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered in Moose Jaw.

March:

The average daily case count was still averaging between 100 - 200 cases. Harsh restrictions were still in place.

On March 2nd, Premier Scott Moe began hinting at loosening restrictions as early as the following week and hopefully before summertime. Moe stated that it would only happen if hospitalizations and case numbers remained stable and everyone in the province would have gotten their first dose of the vaccine.

On March 7th, the death of a person in the 19 years or younger age group was the first young person in Saskatchewan reported to have passed away due to the virus.

On March 9th, gathering restrictions were loosened from not being allowed to have anyone in a house except live-in family members to being allowed to have a ‘bubble’ gathering of the same consistent 10 people. It was also announced that as of March 19th, worship halls could have 30% of their usual congregation attend service or 150 people, whichever was lesser.

March 11th was the 1st anniversary of when the pandemic was declared in 2020. A province-wide virtual vigil was held via Zoom and a YouTube live stream. Dozens of religious and Indigenous groups participated and had ceremonies honoring the long year of struggle and those lost to the pandemic. Variants of concern were still running rampant.

On March 16th, our neighboring city Regina was called a ‘hotspot’ by our Premier as they had 101 new positive cases which included 61 cases of the variants. People living in Regina were suggested to keep their household bubbles small to reduce spread. The government also suggested that everyone eligible should go get vaccinated either by appointment or through one of their new drive-thru clinics.

On March 22nd, an announcement was made that 100,000 rapid testing kits were being sent out to schools across the province to help monitor the presence of COVID-19. They arrived within the same week.

On March 23rd, Regina and surrounding areas were put into an immediate lockdown that reduced gathering sizes, implemented travel advisories that stated traveling to these areas were not recommended and closed all in-person dining for local restaurants. These restrictions were set to expire on April 5th.

On March 25th, Dr. Saqib Shahab had a conference with the CEO of the SHA Scott Livingstone about the concern growing around Moose Jaw and Weyburn. These areas were seeing a rise in cases that included variants of concern. Shahab and Livingstone stated that they continued to monitor the situation but if it became any worse, our city and Weyburn would be put into a lockdown similar to the one in and around Regina. A few days later, Moose Jaw received advisories from the SHA to take additional precautions and get tested due to the increasing community transmission of COVID-19 variants.

April:

Right as April started there was a rise in COVID-19 variant cases. Travel in and out of Moose Jaw was not recommended; same with reduced public outings and gatherings. Daily case counts were sitting steadily over 200. However, vaccine walk-in and drive-thru centers were announced to be opening in Moose Jaw between April 6th and 9th but they were only open to people 55 years of age or older.

On April 7th, the provincial government announced the restrictions were extended for an additional 2 weeks until April 26th. They did this in hopes of having more people vaccinated and having lower case numbers before they considered reopening.

Even though the public health orders for most of Saskatchewan had loosened in March, they tightened right up again as an announcement on April 13th stated that all gatherings were restricted to house members which became effective immediately. As of April 16th, places of worship were limited to only 30 people again.

On April 20th it was announced that the public health guidelines were being extended again until May 10th.

In late April, healthcare workers began to speak out about how the staff in hospitals and other healthcare facilities were becoming overburdened and tired as COVID-19 related hospitalizations were growing.

May:

Daily case numbers were continuing to average between 200 - 300.

Premier Scott Moe addressed the public on May 4th with a 3 step re-opening plan that he hoped to start later in May but it was dependant on vaccination numbers. The first step was set to begin after vaccines became available to all adults in the province and 3 weeks after 70% of people aged 40 and over had their first dose. Step 2 would begin 3 weeks after 70% of people aged 30 and over had their first dose. Then step 3 would begin after 3 weeks of 70% of all adults aged 18 and over had their first dose. Restrictions were set to be lifted according to the steps of the re-opening plan. Moe also assured that he would roll out 2nd vaccine doses as soon as all the first doses were administered. He pleaded that people go back to get their 2nd doses. He insinuated that if everyone or at least the majority of people became fully vaccinated before summer that everyone would have a "great Saskatchewan summer".

After that announcement, vaccination clinics in Moose Jaw expanded and the vaccination eligibility continued to open up to younger people.

On May 8th, it was announced that the first step for the reopening plan would start May 30th.

On May 17th, Moose Jaw began administering 2nd vaccine doses to seniors and healthcare workers.

Everyone aged 12 years or older was eligible to receive the first dose of a Pfizer vaccine as of May 19th. 

The province began seeing a downward trend in daily cases in mid-May. On May 23rd, 116 cases were reported which was the lowest it had been since March.

On May 24th, the threshold for the second step of the re-opening roadmap was reached, as 70 percent of the province’s population over the age of 30 had received at least their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The second step was set to begin on June 20th.

In late May, the daily case count averaged out again between 100-200 daily cases. On May 30th, step 1 of the province's re-opening plan began.

June:

On June 1st, the Government of Saskatchewan updated their 're-opening roadmap' to include a vaccination threshold for the removal of all remaining public health restrictions, including mandatory masking and limited gathering sizes. Step 3 of the re-opening roadmap was to be split into two parts; Part 1 would come into effect after 70 % or more of residents aged 18 and above had received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and after three weeks had passed since the start of Step 2. That would mark the lifting of most remaining public health restrictions, such as those on restaurants, sports, and recreation. Part 2, meant the removal of all public health orders would occur three weeks after 70 % of people age 12 and up had received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose, with at least three weeks having passed since the beginning of Step 2. This meant that all restrictions could be lifted as early as July 11, if the vaccination threshold was reached by June 20.

June 5th shared some hope among residents as the hospitalizations continued to drop. There were 98 people in the hospital receiving treatment for COVID-19 which was the fewest since November 21st.

Then on June 9th, daily COVID-19 numbers dropped to their lowest since November with reporting only 57 new positive cases.

On June 10th, Rapid Antigen Test Kits became available for free to businesses that requested them through an online portal. Residents who wanted tests kits had to purchase them online.

On June 15th, Premier Scott Moe released news that self-isolation requirements were being updated to consider those who have been fully vaccinated. Which meant anyone who was fully vaccinated and asymptomatic during that time no longer had to self-isolate if they were named as a close contact of a COVID-19 positive person. However, those who were fully vaccinated but were showing symptoms were still required to self-isolate even if the symptoms were mild. People would also have to isolate still if they had a higher risk of serious illness, for increased transmission, or they live in a setting at risk of an outbreak.

By June 19th, the province reached the threshold for the first phase of step 3 in the province's re-opening plan. Step 2 of the plan began the next day on June 20th. Then step 3 was scheduled to begin July 11th.

However, Premier Scott Moe announced on June 20th that instead of having a 2-part step 3 re-opening plan, on July 11th all health measures including public mask-wearing and restrictions on gathering sizes were to be eliminated. This decision was due to the data that read 70 % of the population over the age of 18 had received a COVID-19 vaccine, and 69 % of those over 12 years of age had received their vaccine as of June 19th.

On June 22nd, only 36 new cases were reported.

On June 26th, Saskatchewan was leading the country in complete COVID-19 vaccinations with 70 % of people over the age of 12 having received their first dose. 36 % of people eligible for the vaccine were completely vaccinated having received both shots.

In late June, Moe made comments about how the provincial government would not consider implementing vaccine passports for large public events. The Opposition NDP called on the Premier to reconsider.

July:

At the start of July, the daily case average sat below 50. On July 6th only 14 new cases were reported.

As of July 11th, all public health mandates were removed after 15 months of adapting to a restricted lifestyle. However, SHA Health Facilities did not adhere to the removal of the health measures.

On July 24th, Premier Scott Moe announced that he, along with another Premier and a few state governors from the U.S., had written a letter to the leaders of the two countries calling for the borders to be re-opened.

In the meantime, the NDP Opposition continued the debate on vaccine passports with Health Minister Paul Merriman joining the conversation. Even though the provincial government stated that they wouldn’t change their mind on not requiring them.

August:

Daily case numbers were still low at the start of August but residents were seeing a bit of an uptick. Instead of the daily case numbers averaging out under 50, people began to see daily cases that were steadily sitting at over 50. On August 6th, 85 cases had been reported. The health authorities and provincial officials were advocating that the majority of new cases and hospitalizations were among those who were unvaccinated. The SHA released information stating that within the cases reported in July, 75% of them were in unvaccinated people.

In mid-August, daily COVID-19 case numbers started to surpass 100.

On August 13th, the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan released a statement saying that vaccinations would be required to enter either campus for staff and students. That same day, the SHA released a statement saying that the Roughriders Football game on August 6th had a risk of increased exposure due to a report of at least 1 person having COVID-19 while at the game. The thousands of people that attended the game were asked to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms.

On August 20th, it was announced that rapid test kits would be provided for families through their child's school. The government also advised that kids 12 years old or older should be fully vaccinated. Any kids under the age of 12 or faculty members who weren't vaccinated should also wear masks while around each other. On the same day, Saskatchewan surpassed 200 reported daily cases.

On August 25th, the provincial government held a press conference for the first time since the beginning of July. Health Minister Paul Merriman strongly suggested that people get the vaccine but stayed strong in the stance of refusing to implement vaccine passports. He stated that the government believed in allowing people to choose whether or not they wanted the jab and the government felt that they had no right to infringe on that. Premier Scott Moe did not attend this conference.

By the end of August, Saskatchewan residents were seeing a rise in cases they hadn't seen since January. On August 28th, 355 cases were reported. The new daily average floated around 200. Doctors began warning of a 4th wave.

On August 30th, the Roughriders made vaccinations and negative tests mandatory to attend their football games. On the same day, Premier Scott Moe and Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab made people's vaccination records available for them to access. The government also announced that they were working on a QR code that would have a person's vaccination data embedded into it. However, Moe was still stressing that he would not implement a province-wide vaccine mandate.

September:

Over 400 cases were reported on September 3rd. New daily numbers were as high as they were in January. 

On September 10th, Premier Scott Moe, Dr. Saqib Shahab, and Health Minister Scott Livingstone held a press conference to announce new COVID-19 measures. They announced that anyone who tested positive was required to isolate for 10 days. Unvaccinated close contacts would also be required to isolate. They called for a reduction in all non-critical or essential health services to help reduce the stress and demand on healthcare workers. They were looking to expand testing and have more rapid tests available for the public. The officials also shined a light on the booster program that was in the works and scheduled to be ready in a few months, same with the QR code. They also made vaccines mandatory for all employees of the SHA.

The NDP Opposition said the Sask. Party government and the Premier were not doing enough. Opposition leader Ryan Meili said, “We're doing the worst and this premier is choosing to do the least in response. We have no serious public health orders in place and today (September 10th) that didn't change,”.

Saskatchewan broke its daily case record on September 14th, reporting 506 cases. 225 people were hospitalized, 43 of them were in the ICU. Premier Scott Moe released a brief statement that day saying that the government and health officials were monitoring the situation closely and that they weren't ruling out implementing restrictions.

Then on September 16th as cases were then averaging at over 400 a day, Moe brought back mask mandates and introduced vaccine mandates. The mask mandates were in effect immediately. Providing proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test to get into most indoor facilities would take effect October 1st. The province was officially in the 4th wave of the pandemic.

On September 17th, the SHA announced that they will be enacting the second phase of surge plans, which included a temporary provincial slowdown of elective procedures and transfer of patients. The new plan saw that all teams focused on COVID-19 cases in the province's hospitals, all while continuing to support emergency and cancer procedures and treatments, as well as cases deemed urgent over the next six weeks. It was also decided that staff would be deployed to areas in the province that were facing urgent and emergent care demands. Intense pressure was placed on the healthcare system as hospitalizations were rising quickly.

September 19th saw the highest active case count since December of 2020 as there were over 4,300 active cases across the province.

The QR code system also became available to the public on September 20th.

On the 24th, the Dr. F.H. Wigmore Hospital along with all other hospitals that offered acute care across the province had implemented visiting restrictions that only allowed patients to have 1 person in the hospital with them for the majority of situations. In some situations, 2 people were allowed in.

Also on the 24th, the QR code app was suddenly inaccessible as there was a privacy breach that allowed people to see other people's vaccination status and personal information. Due to this the QR code was temporarily out of order.

October:

Restrictions were back in full effect and so was the protocol for proof of vaccination. People needed their proof to get in basically anywhere that wasn’t a grocery store. Business owners had to quickly adapt to the new protocols.

Hospitalizations were continuing to grow. It was also now mandatory for all SHA staff to provide proof of vaccination to go to work.

The average daily case count was over 500 but those numbers did start to dip down a bit in the middle of October.

On October 13th, the federal government announced that the Canadian/U.S. land border at the state of New York would be opening to vaccinated travelers. It was scheduled to reopen to non-essential travelers in November. On that same day, Saskatchewan began talking with Ontario about transferring some of our ICU patients over to their province to free up space and stress in Saskatchewan’s healthcare system.

On October 18th, new public health orders come into effect which expanded on the number of businesses that required proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. As of that Monday, to sit down in a fast-food restaurant or go into a liquor store people needed to provide those requirements.

That wasn’t the only big announcement made on the 18th. 84 Saskatchewan patients needed ICU treatment, it was announced that 6 of those patients were being transferred to Ontario to receive care there. All six were flown to Ontario throughout the next 4 days.

Also on the 18th, Scott Moe requested additional help from the federal government to get our hospitalizations under control.

On October 21st, Rapid Test Kits became available for the public to pick up at the Moose Jaw and District Chamber of Commerce.

On Friday, October 22nd, 3 more Saskatchewan patients were approved to be sent to Ontario for treatment. 1 patient left that Friday, the other the following Saturday, and the last patient left on Sunday. A total of 9 patients were now receiving treatment in Ontario. Over the next month, a total of 27 patients were flown to Ontario for Intensive Care Treatment.

A new treatment for COVID-19 surfaced on October 25th. Monoclonal Antibodies could be used as an early treatment for mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms for those unvaccinated or considered at-risk for progression to severe illness that would require hospitalization. They became available in Saskatoon and Regina.

Cases were also noticeably dropping by late October. On the 25th, 170 new cases were reported. Premier Scott Moe was facing pressure from the NDP and provincial residents to put in stronger restrictions, but he stood firm in the current restrictions he had laid out and stated that they were working.

November:

For the start of November, daily case numbers stayed below 200 but hospitals were still overwhelmed.

It was announced on November 4th that some deployed health care staff were allowed to return to their home units by the end of the month. Out of 860 staff members that were deployed, 450 were scheduled to return.

As of November 8th, showing proof of vaccination was now required to enter any SHA Facility.

The 8th also brought sad news to Moose Jaw. A local Doctor named Dr. Youssef Al-Begamy died from COVID-19 while receiving intensive care in Ontario. Al-Begamy served as a family and emergency room physician in Moose Jaw, Regina, and Fort Qu’Appelle.

On November 19th, Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said the province was doing well according to the SHA modeling numbers. The latest modeling showed that hospitalizations, both acute care and ICU, were trending downward. Only 89 cases were reported on the 19th.

The 19th also brought the good news of the approval of Pfizer's pediatric vaccines that were meant for children between ages 5 and 11. 112,000 doses were scheduled to come to Saskatchewan.

For mid and late November, daily case numbers continued to stay below 100. However, just as Saskatchewan started to see a light at the end of the tunnel for the 4th wave, news began to spread about the Omicron variant found in South Africa.

Ottawa reported the first 2 cases of the variant in the country over the weekend of November 27th. There wasn’t much knowledge of this new variant but countries across the globe put their guard up immediately. Canada being one of them.

As of November 30th, 40 possible cases of Omicron were being monitored in Saskatchewan. Additional travel restrictions were implemented for domestic and international travel. Canada had 10 countries from South Africa on our travel ban list. Any Canadian citizen that had traveled to these countries in the past 2 weeks was required to quarantine whether the person had their vaccine or not. Any international travelers flying into Canada would have to take a COVID-19 test and quarantine until the test results came in. Travelers from the U.S. are the only exception. Also, land borders, trains, and airports would no longer accept a negative COVID-19 test as admittance to travel. Travelers 12 years of age or older must be fully vaccinated and provide proof when looking to travel. This applies to anyone traveling domestically or internationally. These travel restrictions are still in place today.

December:

As the concern around Omicron continued to grow with little to no information about this new strain, debates on mask quality and effectiveness became a big topic. Cloth masks were no longer thought of as effective unless worn with a medical mask. Medical grade masks and ventilators were suggested to be the best form of protection.

Saskatchewan’s average daily case count still sat below 100 at the start of December.

On December 8th, the Omicron variant was found in Saskatchewan. 4 people living within the same household with a travel history to one of the ten countries of concern identified by the Government of Canada had screened positive for Omicron.

In mid-December, things seemed promising for a nice Christmas as case numbers were averaging out at around 50 per day and hospitalizations were decreasing.

However, on December 22nd, 82 cases of Omicron were detected in the province. The public still had little information on the intensity of the variant, but PEOC modeling showed that the variant could cause a massive uptick. Meanwhile, other provinces such as Ontario and Quebec were already seeing hundreds of new daily cases of the Omicron variant.

Later in the month, research was released that the Omicron variant is extremely transmissible but has milder side effects in most cases. Saskatchewan did begin to see a large increase in case numbers over the Christmas weekend. We saw 896 new cases. Now our daily case count average is around 300. Our neighboring provinces are seeing daily numbers that are in the thousands, some are even in the tens of thousands.

Even with these high numbers, hospitalizations haven’t increased in Saskatchewan. However, provinces like Ontario and Quebec are now seeing an increase in hospitalizations a few weeks after they found Omicron’s breakthrough cases. There’s still much to learn about this new variant.