While there is no firm ban or mandatory quarantine in place yet, the government of Saskatchewan is advising residents not to travel between provinces unless necessary. Citing growing cases of COVID-19 in both Manitoba and Alberta, the province said in a release today it would prefer people not to cross the borders. 

"The best way for us to keep COVID-19 out of our schools is to keep COVID-19 out of our communities," said Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe. "This includes being particularly and especially careful if you travel outside of the province. Right now our neighbors to the east and west are seeing some rising case numbers, and I expect them to get that under control soon. But for now, if you don't have to travel to another province, please don't."

Moe acknowledged that many people travel outside of Saskatchewan in either direction for work on a routine basis. He also said many communities are right on the border, in some cases, like Lloydminster, literally straddling it.

"If you absolutely do have to travel outside of Saskatchewan," said Moe, "we would urge you to try to limit the number of interpersonal contacts that you would meet. Follow all the good practices we have repeatedly mentioned around social distancing, hand-washing, and appropriate mask usage."

The province would not go so far as to ban travel to either of those provinces or institute a mandatory 14-day quarantine for anyone returning from out-of-province. In the past, Manitoba had a mandatory 14-day quarantine for anyone traveling from another province.  

"Our economies are very, very integrated," Moe said. "In fact, we have cities that are very, very integrated, and share the border between in this case Saskatchewan and Alberta. We have people that are traveling back and forth between Saskatchewan and Alberta daily for work, Saskatchewan and Manitoba as well, or on a weekly or bi-weekly basis."

Moe added that once you return from out of province if you must leave, you should self-monitor for symptoms. If you have any concerns about whether you may have come into contact with COVID-19, you should consider getting tested, as testing is now available to anyone in the province regardless of symptoms.