Anyone entering Manitoba from not just another country but another province will now have to undergo a mandatory 14-day self-isolation. The province put this in place to curb the spread of COVID-19 from travel-related cases, and some have wondered if Saskatchewan might consider doing the same thing. 

That measure is apparently not yet on the table, however. During a press conference, Saskatchewan's Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, took a question on the province's plans to keep the border open for now, and the reasoning behind it. 

"We do recommend that you minimize travel within the province and between provinces," he said. "Obviously international travel is not recommended... At this point, the safest measures are what we are doing at the moment, staying close to home, avoiding non-essential travel. But many people do have to travel for work or for other essential reasons."

Manitoba is not the first province to require inter-provincial travellers to self-isolate for 14 days as the Atlantic provinces have had similar rules in place for some time. What's working out east, however, may not be right for people on the prairies.  

"We know that the Atlantic bubble has tried to maintain a very low COVID infection rate throughout, and good for them," Dr. Shahab said. "We in western Canada have thought about these things, and we have found, in consultation with our colleagues throughout Saskatchewan that with two long borders, many border communities where people work or shop, it was not thought practical."

Dr. Shahab added that Manitoba and Saskatchewan have very similar guidelines at the moment, and people still have to follow those guidelines wherever they are going. He also said that if you do have to travel and you start feeling unwell, you should isolate yourself, get tested, and seek public health advice immediately. 

Saskatchewan's active case count slightly rose over the weekend to 2523. Vaccinations have tapered off as the province has run increasingly low on the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, though they are expecting another shipment to arrive today.