Sask. government resists Opposition calls for daily COVID reporting, says public not requesting it

The Saskatchewan government's response to COVID-19 has been shifting since the removal of public health measures on Feb. 28, and one event this week highlighted the change in direction.

Premier Scott Moe stood in front of an indoor crowd of more than 1,000 for the first time in two years on Wednesday, to address the annual Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) convention in Regina, which was held in person for the first time since March 2020.

"Folks, in no way are we claiming that COVID is going away," Moe said. "It's not, it's going to be with us for a while and we need to be aware of that. We need to manage the risk of COVID, but we need to do so at an individual level. 

"So today in Saskatchewan we are getting our lives back to normal. We have zero COVID protocols," he said, adding that the move was long overdue. "That's all I have to say about COVID today."

The government's mask mandate was dropped on March 1, and the vast majority of the crowd was not wearing a mask.

Moe received a round of applause before moving on to talk about export and job opportunities in the province.

The lack of appetite for COVID discussion was on display during the 90-minute "bear pit" session in which SARM delegates have a chance to ask any cabinet minister a question.

Health Minister Paul Merriman did not receive a question for the duration of the session.

"With respect to no questions for the health minister it shows that people at this convention and across the province understand COVID and have the tools available to manage COVID at a personal level," Moe said afterwards.

Opposition Leader Ryan Meili and health critic Vicki Mowat have spent the first two weeks of the sitting calling for a return to daily COVID reporting and asking Health Minister Merriman for daily hospitalization and ICU data.

The government moved to weekly COVID reports in early February.

Meili and Mowat have argued the public should know on a more frequent basis how the virus is affecting the community and the health-care system.

Following question period on Thursday morning, Health Minister Merriman said he had not seen the weekly COVID report, which usually is released after 1 p.m. every Thursday.

"The information's being tallied, it's being shared. It's just deceitfully being hidden," Meili said. "This is how it works. The idea that he is somehow covering his eyes and not getting this information, it's just not real."