COVID-19 continued to make headlines in Saskatchewan throughout 2021
Global News
From surging cases, record hospitalizations, public health measures and proof of vaccinations, there was no shortage of COVID-19 news in Saskatchewan during 2021.
The year started with Saskatchewan in the midst of COVID-19’s second wave.
It is ending with the waning of the fourth wave, but with fears of a fifth wave after the Omicron variant was detected in the province.
When January started, temporary public health restrictions that were put in place in December 2020 — including a ban on household visits, capacity limits at businesses and a ban on adult team sports — were extended until March 9.
The province eased restrictions that day, allowing bubbles of up to three households to a maximum of 10 individuals in a home at any one time.
It didn’t last long in Regina, as the province clamped down on household gathering sizes in the region on March 24 as the city became the provincial hot spot for COVID-19 cases.
Private indoor gatherings were limited to immediate family members only, with exceptions made for people living alone and single parents of minor children.
Travel into and of the region was not recommended unless absolutely necessary.
Dr. Alexander Wong, an infectious disease physician in Regina, said front-line health-care workers banded together for what they thought would be the worst of COVID-19.