As you wake up this morning, the restrictions you have been under for the past year and a bit due to COVID-19 are over.

There are still some protocols you are being asked to follow, but the public health order has now been rescinded meaning a lot of what we could before March 2020 can be done again.

While the public health order and restrictions are now over, the man who guided the province through the pandemic still has some advice for Saskatchewan residents.

“If you are unvaccinated, you’re actually in a worse place than last year because now you don’t have the Wuhan strain. You have variants like Alpha, Gamma and Delta that can be more severe irrespective of age.” provincial chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said, “So you are not in a good place if you’re unvaccinated and that risk will remain and continue to be there.”

As Saskatchewan reopens, Premier Scott Moe is also thanking people after what we have gone through.  He knows what was asked of us was not easy.

“Outside of wartime, I don’t think a government has ever asked so much of its citizens.” Moe said. “This was very difficult for all of us, but it was necessary and it gets us to where we are today.”

While the province is reopening, Moe admits COVID-19 is not over and a mission accomplished banner is not being put up.  Because of that Shahab is reiterating one message that was hammered home at the start of the pandemic.  He says before March 2020, people that were not feeling well would not stay home and still go to work.  He says that practice must stop and that if you are not feeling 100 percent you should not go to work and that if symptoms persist to get tested.

Just because the state of emergency has been lifted as has the mandatory mask policy doesn’t mean you should be throwing those masks away.  Several stores have indicated they will have a mask policy in place.  The Saskatchewan Health Authority says masks will still be needed at their facilities and Regina Police indicated Sunday morning if you need to visit headquarters that a mask will be required at this time.