Saskatoon: We Stand Together
Saskatoon: We Stand Together
We come together as leaders from different parts of our community with a common message: We must turn our numbers around to save lives and livelihoods.
For the last 9 months, we have been masking and distancing and sanitizing. We have been careful and many of us have been making many sacrifices – from families not being able to visit with grandparents, to businesses continually adapting and putting internal controls in place that go further than required, to teachers and schools who continue to provide learning to our children in a constantly changing environment.
And a special acknowledgement of the incredible work being done by front-line workers to keep us safe.
When our numbers went down over the summer, some of us became more relaxed. Maybe even complacent. We knew there would be a second wave, but maybe we didn’t believe it would actually hit us as hard as it did.
But it did. Cases have gone from 257 active cases a month ago, to 1352 yesterday.
We have 41 people hospitalized and 11 in ICU, operating at overcapacity – 126%. The SHA is projecting the provincial cases will double in the next two weeks and forecasting a peak in mid-January which would put ICU capacity at 449%.
We cannot continue on this same path.
We are asking every individual, every group, every business, to do everything you can to follow the rules, to stop this spread.
We also want you to feel supported to make safe decisions if find yourself in a situation that feels uncertain: it’s ok to ask your friend to wear a mask or distance when you are chatting, it’s ok to ask someone to take the next elevator.
And when you see behaviour that puts the community at risk, this needs to be held accountable, and there is a link where you can report this:
All of this will make a difference.
One of the top causes of transmission right now is socializing, particularly when it involves eating and drinking: more than one family coming together, friends sitting together over coffee, co-workers at lunch break.
We need to change our behaviour. We need to find different ways to be together safely, to protect lives and livelihoods.
Our ask to every individual:
- Create a very small bubble made up of your household and only essential connections, like caregivers. These are the only people you don’t need to wear a mask around or distance from.
- Always wear a mask when interacting with people outside of your bubble.
- Keep physically distancing at least 2 metres.
- Plan ahead how and where you need to go, and who you need to meet in person and who you can meet virtually. Be clear with the people in your life about these plans.
- Sign up for the COVID Alert App:
Our ask to community organizations and businesses:
- Partner with Tourism Saskatoon to:
Become a Saskatoon CommUNITY Commitment Partner:
Ensure the internal controls you continue to re-create in response to changing public health orders to prevent the transmission of COVID 19 are comprehensive and fully support your employees and clients by working through the tools Tourism Saskatoon provides to you
Develop “post transmission” standard operating procedures that can be enacted when an individual who is COVID positive enters your space, or when one of your employees becomes COVID positive. A template is provided to you following the completion of the CommUNITY Commitment Program.
Develop and/or confirm your internal safety controls and “post transmission” standard operating procedures with the help of the CommUNITY team at Tourism Saskatoon. Support includes development and review of all internal controls, support through risk assessment process and development of “post transmission” standard operating procedures. All support is provided free of charge.
Proudly display your CommUNITY Commitment partnership logo in your window and place of business to unify Saskatoon in our approach to safety and security.
- Have your employees download and utilize the COVID Alert App.
- Maintain a registry of contacts of every person that comes into your workplace, include names, phone numbers and emails.