COVID-19 widow says province not penalizing those involved in Saskatoon outbreak sends 'poor message'

The wife of a man who lost his life to COVID-19 says the province is sending the wrong message to the public after officials decided the people at the heart of a COVID-19 outbreak in Saskatoon won't face consequences. 

Earlier this week, the Saskatchewan Health Authority declared a community outbreak of COVID-19 in Saskatoon after two family gatherings in the city were connected to at least four new known cases of the virus.

A contact-tracing investigation involving more than 60 individuals is underway.

Health officials say the gatherings took place outside and were attended by more people than are allowed by provincial guidelines, but officials say it's unlikely charges will be laid. The province said it's focused on education, as opposed to enforcement.

Kathleen Gullacher, who lost her husband of 45-years Noble Gullacher to COVID-19 in April, said she feels the lack of enforcement may result in more people flouting the rules. 

"It does send a poor message to the general public, because they'll think, 'Maybe we'll get together anyway and there's not really going to be a consequence,'" she said. 

"They don't realize they're playing with somebody's life." 

Gullacher said she'd like to see some action taken, even in the form of a written warning or reprimand. She also said the government should be closely monitoring these people to ensure they are respecting self-isolation rules as the investigation continues. 

"Is somebody checking that they're under quarantine?" she asked. "If they were dumb enough to have this big family thing and now an outbreak, are they smart enough to stay home for their 14 days?"

Officials have released little information about the Saskatoon outbreak. They have not indicated how many people attended the events, where the events took place or what they consisted of. However, they have said the outbreak is considered contained and those identified as close contacts have been informed by public health officials. 

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said earlier this week that the "vast majority" of people in Saskatchewan are following the orders from public-health officials. Chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shabab also said in situations where education isn't enough, a ticket or charge is an option.

Nick Daigneault, mayor of the northern village of Beauval, said via social media messaging that it "doesn't sound right" that no charges will be laid from the Saskatoon gatherings, as residents in the northwest have been living under tight restrictions, with tickets as high as $2,800 when the guidelines are not followed.

"Overall that's very frustrating to hear not even a citation is being written over a clear breach in the public health order," he said in the message.

"People will assume there will be no consequences now and that'll make my role as a community leader harder when we have no teeth behind our warnings."

Ryan Meili, leader of Saskatchewan's Opposition NDP, said enforcement should be uniform, noting the province has to be clear as to why some people are getting fined and others are not. 

"The premier's comments that this was a time for education more than punishment, that's a reasonable thought, but there have been other cases in recent weeks where people have received fines and that certainly sends a strange message," he said. 

Meili said that while he's "not a hawk" who feels everyone should be fined or punished, the laws need to be applied consistently. 

"If that message is, 'we will come and give you a warning,' whether that's strong enough or not that's open for debate, but that better be the same for everyone."

On Thursday Moe said the province would move forward with a fine only if there's a pattern of people not following a public order. 

"The goal of the public health orders is to have compliance with the public health orders to reduce the spread of COVID-19. It's not to fine anyone."

As of Friday afternoon, the province has recorded a total of 641 COVID-19 cases, of which only 61 are considered active and 570 of which are recovered.