News Releases

As the City of Saskatoon continues to keep up to date on the COVID-19 pandemic, City leaders have made the decision to close leisure facilities effective Monday, March 16.

“This was a difficult decision to make,” says Pamela Goulden-McLeod, Director of the Emergency Management Organization. “We want to remind everyone there is no evidence of community transmission.”

“We want to make sure we can maintain essential services and one of the ways we can do this is to limit non-essential contacts in the community, including for our staff,” Goulden-McLeod says.

Affected leisure facilities and co-located libraries

Until further notice, the following leisure facilities will close tomorrow:

•    Leisure Centres

o    Cosmo Civic Centre (and Caryle King Public Library)

o    Harry Bailey Aquatic Centre

o    Lakewood Civic Centre (Cliff Wright Public Library)

o    Lawson Civic Centre (Rusty MacDonald Public Library)

o    Saskatoon Field House

o    Shaw Centre

•    Indoor Rinks

o    ACT Arena

o    Archibald Arena

o    Cosmo Arena

o    Gordie Howe Kinsmen Arena

o    Lions Arena

•    Outdoor Rink Buildings (Warm-up Shacks)
•    Golf Courses (for pre-season sales)

o    Holiday Park Golf Course

o    Silverwood Golf Course

o    Wildwood Golf Course

•    Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo

In collaboration with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, we are actively monitoring the situation and will continue to evaluate when the facilities may reopen.

The City will be determining how to compensate all those affected by leisure facility closures and those details will be provided soon.

If outside organizations have identified these facilities for evacuation centres they will no longer be available until further notice.

City proceeds with Spring/Summer 2020 program registration

Program registration for Spring/Summer 2020 (April 1 to August 31, 2020) will continue as planned. Registration begins tonight, Sunday, March 15, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. by calling 306-975-2800 or by logging into leisureonline.saskatoon.ca. Walk-in registrations will not take place at the Leisure Centres due to facility closures.

Communicating with City staff

Saskatoon EMO has also helped coordinate internal messages for City employees who may have questions about how the pandemic response may change their workplace.

Online self-assessment

The City is also making available the Health Ministry's tool to guide citizens on how to continue with daily life and whether they need to be tested for COVID-19.

Goulden-McLeod says people should continue with their daily routines, but they should pay attention to personal hygiene and appropriate social distancing.

On this point, City Manager Jeff Jorgenson, who is out of the country on vacation, will lead by example and self-isolate for 14 days when he returns.  While he has no symptoms, he will follow the recommendations of the Chief Medical Health Officer as he does not want to jeopardize the health of City staff or the public.

Four new presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 have been identified in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of cases in the province to six.  None of the new cases is in Saskatoon. 

The provincial health ministry encourages everyone to be mindful of good hand hygiene, cough etiquette and social distancing. For those who have risk factors such as old age, or underlying health issues, medical experts encourage those people to stay away from crowded areas.

Updates will continue to be provided at saskatoon.ca/covid-19. 

To help share reliable and accurate information for our community, the City has created a webpage dedicated to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) information.

“Everyone can find facts on how to protect yourself and family from COVID-19, answers to the questions we’re being asked the most, news releases and links to trusted health-related information,” says Pamela Goulden-McLeod, Director of Emergency Management.

In terms of action, the City has activated its Emergency Operations Centre to coordinate its planning efforts.

Since January, the City has been monitoring and actively engaged in assessing the impact of COVID-19 and continues to be in close contact with provincial and federal health agencies.

 “Our top priorities are protecting the health, safety, plus overall well-being of everyone in our community – as well as maintaining essential services to our citizens,” Goulden-McLeod says.

Goulden-McLeod reminds everyone it is important to keep up to date with the current risk level in Saskatchewan.

“This needs to be a team effort – responding most effectively will take a whole community approach,” she says. “Every group, business and person can play a role to help keep us all healthy and safe. This will not come down to be one organization’s or one person’s job to solve.”

As it becomes available in a rapidly changing environment, the City will continue to provide more information on the webpage and through social media platforms.

During this heightened awareness related to COVID-19, the City of Saskatoon is following the lead of Saskatchewan Heath Authority.  The City assures citizens it is in constant contact with our key stakeholders to coordinate all efforts to communicate important information, and to make any necessary adaptations to our plan to respond to the situation as it continues to change. 

“It is not about just one organization but this requires a team effort - a coordinated response of multiple organizations working together with our citizens to protect the health of our community”, says Pamela Goulden-McLeod, Director of Emergency Management, Saskatoon Fire Department.

EMO has been closely tracking the progress of the COVID-19 virus since January and actively preparing and assessing the impact and plans as the situation develops.  

In response to the news that there is a confirmed case in Saskatchewan, Saskatoon's Emergency Management Organization has raised its Emergency Operations Centre status to a level two. This means a regular teleconference with our key stakeholders, keeping our plan active, dynamic, and adjustable to respond in the best interest of public health and safety.

At a civic level, our plan includes continuing to share information with staff and patrons provided by Saskatchewan Health Authority, and taking appropriate precautions as needed which may include additional cleaning requirements, assessment of programs and provision of services.  

While the risk of acquiring COVID-19 in Saskatoon continues to be low, it is critical that residents be reminded to follow all of the recommendations from Saskatchewan Health Authority to take precautions to protect themselves.  Wash your hands frequently, practice good cough and sneeze hygiene and stay home if you are sick. Updated information on COVID-19, including questions and answers for the public are available on www.saskatchewan.ca/coronavirus.

As mentioned in an earlier news release, Saskatoon Fire Department currently has four staff members in self-isolation as a precaution. At 10:02 p.m. on March 11, 2020, one fire engine from Fire Station No. 4 responded to a medical call for a patient experiencing shortness of breath. It became known that the patient was to be tested for COVID-19. The self-isolation of the four attending members is a precautionary response. 

“SFD staff are following precautions based on a SFD Infectious Control Policy,” says Saskatoon Fire Chief, Morgan Hackl. “We continue to respond to emergency calls.”

“We would like to take the opportunity to remind citizens of Saskatoon to sign up for notifynow at saskatoon.ca/notifynow,” says Pamela Goulden-McLeod, “so that if our emergency planning area needs to get public safety messages out in a timely, trusted, and targeted manner, our citizens are receiving those messages in whichever way is going to reach them right away.”

“You can choose how to receive those messages when you sign up via a voice message to your home, work, or cell phone, by email, or a text message,” adds Goulden-McLeod, “and just as important, you can also add family member’s addresses, such as your child’s school or parents’ home, through the customization tools.”

We know there are a lot of questions from Saskatoon citizens, but we are focused on where we are now, which is still at a low risk with one confirmed case in Saskatchewan who is self-isolated at home. We are committed to providing information and updates to the citizens of Saskatoon when we have new information to share.

We appreciate your cooperation, and diligence with caring for yourselves and the health of our community, as this is a team effort.

Joint Statement Regarding JUNO Week 2020

Through our collaborative discussions and with input and guidance and the full support of our trusted partners, including the Province of Saskatchewan, the City of Saskatoon,Tourism Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Health Authority and Saskatchewan Ministry of Health, it is with an incredibly heavy heart that we collectively confirm the cancellation of the 49th Annual JUNO Awards and JUNO Week activities in Saskatoon due to concerns surrounding COVID-19. 

We are devastated to cancel this national celebration of music, but at this time of global uncertainty, the health, safety and well-being of all Canadians must stand at the forefront of any decisions that impact our communities. We know this is the right decision based on the information we currently have and are continuing to receive. The situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to evolve rapidly and we urge everyone to follow the guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials.

We salute and appreciate all the 2020 nominees. CARAS will continue to explore options to coordinate an alternative way to honour this year’s JUNO Award winners and Special Award Recipients and support the creators and participants that so greatly benefit from the work done by CARAS and the JUNOS.

For additional information, please contact:

Victoria Gormley, rock-it promotions, victoria@rockitpromo.com

Tonisha Bath, rock-it promotions, tonisha@rockitpromo.com

The risk of contracting COVID-19 in Saskatoon and province-wide remains low and public events may go on as planned.

“At this time, Saskatchewan does not have a confirmed case of COVID-19, and the risk to Canadians remains low. SHA Public Health in Saskatoon recommends large gatherings like the JUNOS 20 Awards proceed,” says Dr. Johnmark Opondo, Medical Health Officer in Saskatoon for the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

“We continue to encourage participants and attendees to practice strong hand hygiene, minimize close contact such as no hand shaking, and should not attend if they are feeling sick. These guidelines will help prevent the spread of infectious illnesses, including influenza and gastroenteritis.”

What is the City doing to prepare?

The City of Saskatoon has been monitoring and actively engaged in assessing the impact of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) since January 2020. 

“The City has been involved in ongoing planning and information sharing on teleconference calls coordinated through the Emergency Operations Centre with at least a dozen different organizations,” says Pamela Goulden-McLeod, Director of Emergency Management Organization.

Goulden-McLeod says an expert from the Saskatchewan Health Authority – Medical Health Office takes part in every teleconference call as the City continually consults with the Medical Health Office.

“Of course, we will continue to communicate when the level of risk of COVID-19 in Saskatoon changes along with appropriate actions that can be taken.”

What are accurate sources of information?  

During any emergency or large-scale event, it is essential to follow accurate, factual, locally specific sources of information. The Government of Saskatchewan’s website remains the best source of information on this evolving situation, and is updated regularly.

Because of the fluidity of this event, we also strongly encourage anyone planning international travel to review the Government of Canada travel updates regularly for additional information.

What can you do?

As a respiratory illness, the best method to protect yourself against COVID-19 is to practice everyday preventive actions, including:

• Practice proper cough and sneezing etiquette (into the bend of your elbow);

• Wash your hands often with soap and water; if soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer;

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands;

• Maintain safe food practices; and 

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick

There is no evidence that surgical masks protect persons who are not sick. The World Health Organization does not recommend the use of any masks if you do not have a travel history and respiratory symptoms.