Saskatchewan is making masks mandatory in indoor public places in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert.
The amended health order is to take effect Friday at 12:01 a.m., and is to be in place for 28 days. After that, the order will be reviewed by the chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab.
Public health also is reducing the maximum allowable size of indoor gatherings in home settings from 15 to 10.
The provincial government made the announcement Tuesday while also reporting 81 new cases of COVID-19, the second-highest single-day total yet in Saskatchewan. It was the province’s 11th straight day with at least 54 new cases.
Mandatory masks
All residents of Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert will have to wear non-medical masks when indoors in public places.
The list of those places includes businesses, health-care facilities, places of worship, gyms or places where events are held.
The new guidelines don’t apply to workplaces to which the public doesn’t have access, private homes, private areas at care homes, and public indoor areas when individuals are eating or drinking while seating in designated areas.
Children aged two and under, anyone who is unconscious or incapacitated, and people who are engaged in physical exercise won’t have to wear masks.
“Enforcement is permitted under the Public Health Act; however, compliance through education is the primary preference of public health,” said a media release from the Ministry of Health.
“Public health will closely monitor compliance and encourage all individuals, businesses and organizations to abide by the masking order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.”
While the order applies to Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert, the ministry also encouraged residents of all communities to wear masks in public to help control the spread of the virus.
Gathering sizes shrinking
The ministry also reduced the maximum size of private gatherings in homes to 10, which includes members of the household who usually live at the residence.
The limit also covers garages or other buildings on the property. Weddings, religious gatherings and funerals also must follow the 10-person limit.
“If you are planning any gathering larger than 10, you must host the gathering in a public venue (restaurant, banquet hall, etc.) and abide by the guidelines that apply to that location,” the ministry said.
The ministry’s release also said residents should return to previous practices such as identifying a single member of the household to do grocery shopping or to run errands and to limit those errands to once a week.
