Sask. emergency rooms in rural communities to reopen mid-June, but could close again if needed

Saskatchewan emergency rooms that were temporarily shuttered earlier this month as health officials worked to contain COVID-19 will begin to reopen in June, the province's health authority says.

The closures were always meant to be temporary and could happen againif the capacity is needed in the future, Health Minister Jim Reiter said Tuesday.

"If we did see a surge, that we had a huge drain in the system, potentially they could again it would be temporarily staff in those facilities would be needed to cover off in facilities where COVIDpatients would be staying," Reiter said.

The temporary closures were met with shock and concern from residents in affected communities, with some saying they had not received satisfactory notice prior to the closures.

The facilities were modified as part of the province's COVID-19 readiness plan. Reiter said that communication between the health authority and the communities could have been clearer.

"There was concern ... I think with some people that the closure of the ER would become permanent. That's not the case," he emphasized.

There have been no dates or hard schedules set for when the facilities can be reopened, said Premier Scott Moe.

Every one of the closed facilities is expected to be up and running within about six weeks.

Reiter said staff needed to be trained and other preparations had to be made for possible COVID-19 measures and the situation could vary day-by-day, so no dates were everidentified and set as goals.

Arcola E.R. first to open

The first of the emergency rooms to reopen will be in Arcolaaround mid-June, with other communities to follow, the Saskatchewan Health Authority announced on Tuesday.

"Some of the criteria being used to assess the safety and readiness for reopening emergency departments in each of these locations are training of staff and physicians, cohorting of staff, and minimal prevalence of COVID-19 in the community or surrounding communities," the health authority'spublic service announcement said.

The SHA said work is underway to reopen the ERs in eight other communities:Kerrobert, Herbert, Preeceville, Davidson, Wolseley, Biggar, Leader and Oxbow.

Broadview, Radville and Laniganrequire additional time before the ER can open to the standard level of service.

The health authority said those three communities had been experiencing service disruptions prior to the start of the Saskatchewan government's COVID-19 readiness plan.

"The SHA will continue to work with these three communities to create a stable staffing pool to ensure consistent services in the future," the health authority's statement said.