Newswire

COVID-19 in Sask.: Nurses' union calls on province to declare outbreak at Regina hospital

The Saskatchewan government announced five new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, including a patient at Regina's Pasqua Hospital — and the nurses' union wants an outbreak declared. The province said the case is under investigation, including contact tracing. Dr. Saqib Shahab, chief medical health officer, said there is no evidence of transmission so far. "A…

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SUN Receives Clarification on Self-Isolation Orders

Over the past number of weeks, SUN members have responded in overwhelming numbers to a call to fill shifts in Lloydminster and La Loche while those facilities were in COVID-19 outbreak (“outbreak facility”). It became apparent that SUN members were receiving mixed messages on the requirement to self-isolate or not work in another health facility if they did fill a need in an…

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Band councillor on Sask. First Nation says suicide crisis is emerging amidst pandemic

A band councillor for a Saskatchewan First Nation is speaking out after a rash of suicide attempts in the past few weeks on his reserve.  Dustin Ross Fiddler of Waterhen Lake First Nation said a 14-year-old girl recently died by suicide and that he is aware of 10 other recent attempts. "There's always the cases that we don't know about or they haven't brought to…

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Rural residents 'shocked' ERs will still close; SUN faults testing in north

Those who depend on rural emergency rooms are alarmed to see them close just as COVID-19 case numbers flatten in most of Saskatchewan. Six rural emergency rooms had already been temporarily shuttered by Friday. Six more are following, including at the Arcola Health Centre, which is closing down emergency care on Thursday. Judy Naylen depends on that care. She has “flare ups” of…

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La Loche doctor describes working in Sask.'s Covid-19 epicentre as 'hard, emotional work'

Family physician Dr. Laura Tanyi-Remarck and her colleagues are working long days in the town of La Loche, ground zero for Saskatchewan's COVID-19 response. The vast majority of the province's active cases — 151 of the 199 total active cases reported as of Monday — are in the community, located about 600 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon, and the neighbouring…

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