MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Saskatchewan to lift all Covid-19 restrictions following protests

“This policy has run its course,” Premier Scott Moe told a news conference

The Canadian province of Saskatchewan will lift as of midnight next Sunday all originally imposed as a responde to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced Tuesday. The new measures are a consequence of protests demanding a new approach at the disease, which is currently less severe as opposed to the economic consequences stemming from lockdowns and other limitations imposed on people.

Saskatchewan's response came while truckers are still deployed in Ottawa, pressing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to also move in that direction.

According to press reports, Alberta is expected to follow suit on Saskatchewan's steps shortly, despite opposition from medical and nursing staff, while Quebec has is set to start easing restrictions.

“This policy has run its course,” Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe told a news conference.

“It's time to heal the divisions over vaccination in our families, in our communities and in our province. Today, we announced the end of the proof of vaccination/negative test policy effective February 14, 2022 at 12:01 a.m.,” he added.

Moe said over 80% of Saskatchewan's population has received two doses of vaccine, while half of it has also been injected with a booster dose so the time had come to treat COVID-19 as an endemic phenomenon.

The Saskatchewan leader contracted the virus last month and has backed truckers in Ottawa who demand the waiver of vaccination requirements for travelers between Canada and the United States. Last week, Moe said in a video that “it was time” to regain freedom and to “return life to normal.”

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has proposed gradually easing restrictions and will provide details later this week, while his Quebec counterpart, Francois Legault, announced Tuesday that the lifting of measures against COVID-19 will take place in mid-March.

“We will need to learn to live with the virus. Maybe there will be a sixth wave eventually, but we will have to live with COVID-19,” Legault explained.