In Yorkton, and the world, there is nothing that defined 2020 more than the COVID-19 virus.
It was March when the first reaction to the virus happened. Saskatchewan effectively closed its doors, with all non-essential businesses ordered to shut starting on March 23, including restaurants, gyms, theatres, pools, and personal services like hairdressers, tattoo artists, and estheticians. Dentists, optometrists, chiropractors and others were ordered to close except for non-elective procedures.
Major events were cancelled or postponed, including the Canadian Student Leadership Conference - set for a return to the city this September. Any large event in the province and all sports were cancelled over the year. Other events transitioned to a digital-only version, such as the Yorkton Film Festival, which filmed their awards ceremony and broadcast it online.
While the first deaths in the province were reported on March 30, the rate of infection was steady, and the province began to open up through the spring and summer.
However, a major spike in infections in the second wave in Saskatchewan has led to a renewed list of restrictions, as well as mandatory mask wearing in all public places in the province. The winter saw the largest number of infections and deaths the province had reported since the pandemic began.
At press time there have been 18,110 infections and 191 deaths in Saskatchewan.
There have been protests from people who object to requirements to wear a mask and from those who think it’s all a vast conspiracy in spite of lacking any evidence. Those who have lived through disease assure people that it’s no joke, no conspiracy, and not something they ever want to experience.
COVID-19 will also likely be the top story of 2021, as the delivery of vaccines will continue well into the new year. Vaccination will begin with seniors and front line healthcare workers, and it is expected that the general population will be able to get vaccinated in April.
