Update from Saskatchewan

Things are shutting down in a big way today. All city buildings are closed – at least to the public, including city hall. Most entertainment – theatres, casinos, playground type places are closed or closing. Bars and restaurants are closing – for lack of business if nothing else. International flights are allowed only at specific airports – none of which are in Saskatchewan. Canadian borders are open to Canadians and Americans only.

All public schools in Saskatchewan are closing this week until further notice. I am behind anything the authorities are doing to slow this virus down – including closing schools. But, the government has announced that every child passing their classes at this point will be passed into the next grade and all grade twelve students will graduate. So what were the schools planning on teaching these kids for the next three and a half months? Will this not leave a knowledge gap when they go onto the next grade or move onto college or university? Hmmm….

Grocery stores, pharmacies and the like are to remain open. The construction industry is still plugging along. Any ‘events’, training classes, etc. are being cancelled. Contractor are issuing their own policy for managing work sites while the coronavirus is a part of our reality. So far our suppliers seem to be processing orders and freight companies are rolling.

Dan was laid off for three weeks last week due to a data breach at Evraz. It was dealt with sooner than expected so he was called back this week. That is kind of scary. There are a lot of people who work at his plant, people coming and going from offices in the USA and a lot of workers who travel at every opportunity. Not the healthiest place to be right now.

The streets are getting pretty quiet out there. It is, no doubt, good that people are taking this ‘social distancing’ seriously. It is good that government and business is taking this situation seriously. But it is unsettling. It is getting surreal.