A recent and ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan started off around the Thanksgiving long weekend, and the provincial health authority has pointed to overly large social gatherings as a potential source of it. With another holiday just around the corner, they're concerned another such rise could follow it. 

Ahead of Halloween tomorrow, the province has reaffirmed its guidelines for the holiday. These include not attending large gatherings whether at house parties or public events and not going on pub crawls if you do attend a bar. 

"We don't really want to see another signal a week after Halloween," said Saskatchewan's Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab. "We did see a signal a week after Thanksgiving. Certainly, we don't want to see a large signal a week or two after Halloween as much as we can because then that can set us up for challenges going forward into the Christmas holidays."

The province set a single-day record Thursday for new cases of COVID-19 with 82. As of Friday, at noon, there are over 700 active cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan. 

"Our guidelines remain as they are," said Dr. Shahab. "As a household, you can dress up and go outside. See and be seen. Try to stick to your own neighbourhood and go to a few houses that are participating. Follow the guidelines and try to maintain the two-meter distance if you do trick or treat."

The province has put some measures in place to try to curb the spread of the virus in recent weeks, including enforcing fines for private gathering sizes, which could be as much as $2000. Private gathering sizes have been reduced to 15, and nightclubs in Saskatoon (where most of the cases are) have been prohibited from selling alcohol after 10:00 and staying open after 11:00. 

"For young adults, this is not the weekend to be going to multiple restaurants and bars," said Dr. Shahab. "If you do decide to go out, follow the guidelines that are on the re-open Saskatchewan plan, and stay with your group that you're going with to one facility."