Scott Moe does 180 and announces vax passport – “The time for patience is over”

By: Greg Staley

Written On: 2021-09-16

After Premier Kenney in Alberta announced that the province would be implementing restrictions (again) and a vaccine passport, Premier Scott Moe of Saskatchewan found the courage to announce that Saskatchewan would be doing the same.

In a video on the Saskatchewan Premier’s Facebook page, he said “the choice to not get vaccinated is creating consequences for others and I would say very soon it is going to create consequences for those who have made the decision to remain unvaccinated.” This sounds like a bit of foreshadowing from the Premier but I digress.

The Premier announced today that Saskatchewan would be implementing a vaccine passport. The Premier said he would be making it “less comfortable to remain unvaccinated in Saskatchewan” by announcing a vaccine passport and a negative test policy for those who aren’t vaccinated. If Saskatchewan residents can’t provide a vaccine passport they will have to provide a negative test to participate in certain aspects of society.

What to expect with Saskatchewan’s vaccine passport and negative test policy

Coming into effect October 1, 2021, a “provincial requirement for proof of vaccination or negative test will be implemented for public access to a list of establishments, businesses and event venues that bring groups of people together, including:

• Indoor dining at restaurants;
• Nightclubs, bars, taverns and other licensed establishments;
• Event and entertainment venues, including conference centres, casinos, movie theatres, concert venues, live-music venues, museums, and indoor facilities hosting ticketed sporting events;
• Indoor fitness centres, and gyms.

Proof of vaccination will not be required for the following:

• Retail businesses, including grocery stores;
• Places of worship;
• Fast food restaurants offering takeout and delivery;
• Health care services, professional services, or personal services;
• Hotels or other lodging;
• Facilities hosting non-ticketed amateur sporting events, including youth athletics and recreational leagues;
• Business meetings and places of business closed to the general public unless otherwise directed by the business or employer;
• Private gatherings held at an indoor public residence.
• Children under the age of 12 are exempt from the proof of vaccination or negative test requirement

Mandatory test requirement

The province says that “protocols regarding proof of negative test requirements are under development for those residents opting to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test” but they will include the “provision of documentation demonstrating proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR or rapid antigen test provided by a certified healthcare provider, including private providers of COVID-19 tests.”

Mandatory Self-Isolation 

If anyone tests positive for COVID-19 they will be required to self-isolate for 10 days after receiving a positive test result. Close contacts of individuals who have tested positive will also be required to self-isolate but instead of 10 days they will be required to isolate for 14 days from the date of their last exposure but only if “they are not fully vaccinated.”

The fully vaccinated are being granted the special privilege of not being required to self-isolate after a close contact with a positive case but instead they will only be “required to self-monitor” for signs of Covid-19.

Another point of contention in the Premier’s plan is that unvaccinated school-age children (including high school) and daycare children who are close contacts of a known positive case are exempt from self-isolation provided they “have no symptoms” and wear a mask at all times while attending school, daycare or during their rides on their school bus.

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