Family Presence to be Restricted in Saskatchewan Critical Care Units

Due to the extremely high number of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) across the province, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is increasing family presence restrictions in Critical Care Units across the province.

All provincial ICUs and ICU surge areas (including cardiac care units and cardiosciences units) in Saskatoon and Regina will implement temporary enhanced surge family presence restrictions, which means every ICU patient will be able to designate two essential family/support persons, with one person present at a time. There is no change to end-of-life family presence, which allows two designated people at a time, in the ICUs or elsewhere.

There are currently more patients in the Intensive Care Units (ICUs) across the province than there have been at any other time during the COVID-19 pandemic. The vast majority of those patients are COVID positive. Limiting the number of family members and visitors will help to ensure proper physical distancing and help mitigate the risk of COVID transmission in ICU settings.

The decision to limit family presence is not made lightly. These restrictions will be reviewed weekly and may be lessened or further restricted based on regular risk assessments. ICU teams will work to support phone and virtual connections with family/support persons as much as they are able to.

To understand details on what this level of family presence means for you, review the at-a-glance summary for acute care or for long-term care which also specify requirements for masking, screening and other safety measures. These measures are in place to keep you, your loved ones, and health care workers safe. The SHA is asking the public for their support and cooperation in order to contain the spread of the virus. 

These limitations will be reviewed regularly but will remain in place until it is safe to return to the previous level of family presence. Family members and support people who are permitted must follow SHA guidelines for screening, personal protective equipment and physical distancing.  

Detailed information about family presence during COVID-19 can be found at saskhealthauthority.ca.

Stick it to COVID! Get Vaccinated!

Vaccines are proven to be effective in protecting individuals from serious illness and death due to COVID, and high vaccination rates in our province will help curb the spread and help us return to normal.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority is holding pop-up and walk-in vaccination clinics throughout the province, targeting under- and unvaccinated communities. With increased demand for vaccination, the SHA is adding vaccination clinics. Watch for details on clinic locations and times are listed on the SHA website. Please note clinics are subject to change based on demand, weather, etc.  Any changes to clinic hours and location will be updated online.

A map of pharmacies participating in COVID-19 vaccinations is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-pharmacies. 

All members of the public are also reminded of the following:

• COVID-19 is transmitted through coughing and sneezing (aerosol and droplet transmission), and by touching surfaces with the virus on it and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes before washing your hands.
• Memorize and recognize the symptoms:  fever, cough, headache, muscle and/or joint aches and pains, sore throat, chills, runny nose, nasal congestion, conjunctivitis, dizziness, fatigue, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite (difficulty feeding for children), loss of sense of taste or smell, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing. Stay home if you have symptoms and monitor yourself.
• Get tested: If you are symptomatic, a close contact of a confirmed case or determined to be at-risk, call Call HealthLine 811 or your physician for a referral or visit your local drive-thru testing site.
• Care for yourself and others: Anyone at any age can contract COVID-19. Be kind to each other and to health-care workers.
• Download the COVID-19 Alert app: The Health Canada COVID Alert app is available to all Saskatchewan residents at no cost in the Apple and Google Play app store. The app is another tool available to help prevent the transmission of COVID-19 by letting people know of possible exposures without sharing any personal information. For more information, visit the COVID-19 Apps webpage.