We should all have a measure of pride in the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan announced by the provincial government last week.
Oh sure, you’re going to have those who say Saskatchewan is moving too fast on this, and we should just keep the province closed until we have a vaccine for COVID-19. You’re also going to get those who say we’re moving too slowly, and that we should be close to open for business again any time soon.
Ultimately, though, it’s because of the actions of Saskatchewan people that we could even have the government discuss such a plan to begin with.
For the most part, Saskatchewan residents have handled the pandemic well. We haven’t been perfect, but we’ve done our best to obey quarantine, self-isolation and crowd restriction measures.
So maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that Saskatchewan was the first province to release a plan to reopen its borders. (New Brunswick followed suit the next day).
While the province is open again, we’re not returning to normal for quite a while. The first phase calls for medical professional services to be opened up on May 4, and then golf courses will be operational May 15.
But even golf won’t be normal like it used to be. Tee times will be in 20-minute intervals. Walk-ons won’t be accepted, although green fee players can still play. Driving ranges will still be closed. And there will be just one player allowed in a power cart, unless both players in the cart are from the same household.
(Note: this might be a good opportunity for players to try walking while they golf).
Perhaps the best news is that retailers that have been closed since the pandemic began will get to open again on May 19. The last six weeks have been very difficult for them.
Our business community should be applauded for the way in which they have adapted to the changing circumstances during the pandemic. Many of them have found new ways to meet the needs of their customers.
But their greatest success will be when they’re able to be open and interacting with the public. And besides, it’s more fun to go shopping when you’re in the store, and you can get that up-close look at what you want to buy.
We’re also looking forward to when campgrounds can open to the public again, even though they won’t be at normal operations.
We wish restaurants could open before Phase 3. Much like our retailers, they should be praised for how they have adapted.
It would have been nice to have recreation facilities like Affinity Place and the Estevan Leisure Centre open before Phase 4, but given the province’s desire to avoid large public gatherings, we shouldn’t expect them to be open for a while yet.
The province still seems skittish about large public gatherings. We can’t have more than 10 in an indoor or outdoor public event. That number will increase to 15 for Phase 3 and 30 for Phase 4.
But we’re still a long ways off from hundreds of people in a movie theatre or at a banquet, or thousands of people at a football game or concert.
Social distancing and crowd restrictions will remain the norm for a while.
Saskatchewan hasn’t been immune from COVID-19, but it is worth noting that the south region has had just 15 cases, and the central region has had 11. Those numbers have remained the same since early April.
We had a small spike in the number of cases last week, but that’s largely due to a rash of diagnoses in the far north. That shouldn’t be a reason to abandon this plan, but it should serve as a stern reminder of what can happen if we let our guard down on social distancing and self-isolation, or if we disobey the quarantine.
We’ve earned the opportunity to start reopening the province. Let’s not spoil it by trying to do too much, too soon, or by becoming complacent.
After all, if we see a surge in cases, we can forget about Re-Opening Saskatchewan.
