By Canadian Press

Saskatchewan doles out millions from COVID-19 contingency to cover pandemic costs

Mar 1, 2021 | 3:03 PM

REGINA – Saskatchewan is draining a contingency fund set up to cover costs of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The province says it has allocated $160 million in new spending from a $200-million pot established in last year’s budget.

The Saskatchewan Party government says $76 million is to go to the Saskatchewan Health Authority to address pandemic-related pressures in health care, while $17 million is to be spent on tourism.

Another $20 million is to pay for grants handed out to small businesses hurt by provincial COVID-19 restrictions.

The province says $40 million from the fund was spent on the reopening of schools last September.

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The new spending comes as the province prepares to table its 2021-22 budget on April 6.

The province’s health ministry says the provincial lab has been certified to conduct testing for COVID-19 variants.

It says the Roy Romanow lab has the capacity starting immediately to test up to 192 samples per week for the more easily transmissible variants.

The ministry says it will also continue to send up to 120 samples per week to the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg to ensure a larger sample size.

The news came as the province reported 154 new cases of COVID-19, but no new deaths for the second straight day.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 1, 2021.

The Canadian Press