Sask. gov't, Dr. Shahab not answering what COVID recommendations he has made

The Saskatchewan government and the province's chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, are not directly answering questions about what COVID-19 public health recommendations Shahab has made to the province's leaders. 

CBC News has sought clarification from the Ministry of Health, which handles communication for Shahab, and the government's communications director on what specific recommendations Shahab has made to the government — and when — since July 11, when all public health measures were dropped. 

Saskatchewan's fourth wave of COVID-19 took hold in late August, cumulating in overwhelmed hospitals and the government's announcement on Monday that it is sending six ICU patients to Ontario to help relieve the burden on Saskatchewan health-care workers.

Two-hundred twelve Saskatchewan residents with COVID-19 have died since July 11. That represents 27 per cent of all COVID-19 deaths in the province since the pandemic began. 

No new public health measure were announced for nearly two months until Sept. 10, when the need for mandatory self-isolation for infected residents was reinforced.

Two weeks earlier, several medical health officers had urged the government to adopt a host of new and old measures to battle the fourth wave. 

Several of the doctors' ideas were eventually adopted, but as the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations has continued to increase, health-care workers have continued to advocate for more measures to prevent new cases of COVID-19 and relieve the pressures hospitals are facing.

Shahab, who is an employee of the Ministry of Health, cannot unilaterally impose new public health measures, but he can make recommendations for the government's consideration.

CBC News asked the ministry and executive council to specify Shahab's recommendations and their timing, so that the public could have a better understanding of the decision making process during Saskatchewan's fourth wave.

Those specifics were not, and have not been, provided.

"If the government is in fact listening to our chief medical health officer's advice, there should be no issue releasing all recommendations Dr. Shahab has made since the beginning of July," said Ryan Meili, the leader of the Saskatchewan NDP Opposition.

On Sept. 21, in response to CBC News' initial inquiry about Shahab's specific recommendations — which had only been sent to the Ministry of Health — Julie Leggott, the director of communications for the provincial government, responded and said the government consulted with Dr. Shahab as the situation evolved.  

Premier Scott Moe and Health Minister Paul Merriman "are continuously engaged with public health officials and the Saskatchewan Health Authority regarding the recent increase in hospitalization numbers and the ongoing capacity of the health-care system," Leggott wrote. 

"Recommendations have been enacted through recent public health orders."