Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan say COVID-19 levels in Saskatoon have increased again, signalling that the sixth wave is not over yet. On Monday, head researcher and toxicologist John Giesy released this week's COVID numbers, showing a 44 per cent increase from the previous week. "[This confirms] that the viral load is large in Saskatoon, with the second greatest amount ever observed and approximately the same amount as it was a month before," wrote Giesy.
The latest wastewater study from the University of Saskatchewan shows a massive spike in Saskatoon's COVID-19 viral load, signalling the start of a new wave of infections. On Monday, researchers released their latest report, showing a 742 per cent increase in viral load taken from sewage samples in the city. Toxicology professor John Giesy said these latest numbers come after COVID surges in Ontario and Quebec, as well as the UK and China, all driven by the more-infectious BA-2 subvariant of Omicron.
