Announced when the milestone of having 70 percent of those over 40 in Saskatchewan receiving their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine was reached on May 9th, Sunday marks the start of Step 1 of the provincial government’s Re-Opening Roadmap. The start of the re-opening process aims to ease some of the public health measures in the province that have been put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19.  

The changes that are taking effect include restaurants and bars being allowed to have up to six people at a table, with two metres of distance between tables or a structural barrier. Places of worship will be allowed to have 30 percent capacity or 150 people, whichever is less, with physical distancing between households. 

The limit of people at private indoor and private outdoor gatherings is 10. The limit for public indoor gatherings is 30 and the limit for public outdoor gatherings is 150. As well, outdoor sports for all ages are allowed to resume. Group fitness classes, like aerobics and spin, can resume with three metres between participants. 

Masking rules in the province are not changing at this time, and the restrictions are remaining in place for retail, personal care services, event facilities, casinos, bingo halls, theatres, art galleries, libraries and recreational facilities. The protocols in place for primary, secondary and post-secondary education as well as childcare are also remaining in place.  

Step 2 of the provincial government's re-opening plan is set to start on June 20th, and Step 3, which will see most remaining restrictions lifted, will take effect on July 11th at the earliest.