Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says his province will soon end COVID-19 measures that have impacted people’s daily lives for the past two years.
Latest data from the government of Saskatchewan also shows unvaccinated people are infected at a rate of 447 per 100,000 people, with the rate dropping to 380 for those with a second dose and 356 for those with a booster shot.
In the four-minute video, Moe reasoned that since both vaccinated and unvaccinated people are contracting the virus at “virtually the same rate,” it’s time to lift the restrictions.
“I’m concerned that COVID being the constant topic of conversation and dictating our daily lives will have a negative long-term impact on each of us in this province,” he said.
“And calls for daily government intrusion into people’s lives, skepticism regarding anything remotely positive that is related to COVID, this perpetual state of crisis is having a harmful impact on everyone.”
Moe said the decision to end the restrictions is also due to the messages he and his MLAs have been hearing from “most of their constituents.”
While the premier acknowledged that the pandemic is far from over, he said “people understand it better.”
“They understand what they need to do. They understand the risk and they are prepared to live with that risk more than they are prepared to live with the ongoing government intrusion into their lives,” he said.
Moe added that it is impossible to eliminate the virus completely but “normalizing” it and learning to live with it is a viable option.
“We may continue to see COVID morph into different variants and forms in the coming months and years,” he said, while also urging his residents to get themselves protected through vaccinations, anti-viral treatments and testing.
“[The vaccines] may not prevent you from getting COVID, it will significantly protect you against getting sick,” he said.
