The Saskatchewan Roughriders with assistance from provincial health officials have finalized the details of their new vaccination policy at Mosaic Stadium.
Since announcing its intention to require vaccination or proof of negative test on August 30, the Club has been working with a task force of health experts from the Ministry of Health, the SHA and eHealth Saskatchewan, alongside the City of Regina and the Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) to create a verification process for vaccination records and negative COVID-19 tests.
As the process had to be created from scratch, the Club leaned on the knowledge of Ministry officials and the SHA to ensure it hit all the proper notes from a public health perspective, while also taking into consideration the game day experience of its fans at the stadium.
“The task force has really done a tremendous amount of work on this file under very short timelines,” said Roughriders President and CEO Craig Reynolds. “We are so thankful to be able to work with health professionals on this new process. Their continuous support, along with the support of the City Regina and REAL is what will make this policy successful and keep our fans in the Stadium safe.”
The Regina SHA Medical Health Officers support the Roughriders’ commitments and actions to ensure enjoyable and safe game days and will continue to provide their guidance throughout the season.
Fans should keep the following in mind in preparation for the next home game on Friday September 17th:
PROOF OF VACCINATION
- Fans age 12 and over must be able to verify they have received two doses of Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca vaccines (or a mixture of two) or a single dose of Johnson and Johnson to be permitted to enter Mosaic Stadium on game day.
- The COVID-19 Vaccination Record available through eHealth Saskatchewan’s individual MySaskHealthRecord accounts is the preferred vaccination record for entry to Mosaic Stadium and will provide the smoothest verification process on game day.
- Fans 18 and older, will be required to present photo ID matching the name on the vaccination record. Fans aged 12-17 will be required to show their vaccine record, but not photo ID. Fans under the age of 12 are exempt from the policy.
- The Club recommends having a digital copy or screen capture on a smartphone ready for game day.
- Other documents such as the immunization wallet card received at the time of vaccination, COVID immunization records from public health, Armed Forces records or out of province/out of country proof of vaccination will also be considered but may require extra verification by volunteers/SHA personnel.
- Stick it to Covid vaccine stickers will not be accepted as proof of vaccination.
PROOF OF A NEGATIVE COVID-19 TEST
- A negative PCR test from an SHA testing site or a PCR or Rapid Antigen Test from a certified testing clinic (at ticketholder’s expense) will be required for unvaccinated people age 12 and over, or those who have only received a single dose of a COVID vaccine.
- The test must be taken within 72 hours of the game.
- Certified private testing clinics in Saskatchewan include Haztech, Quantum Genetix and Nobel.
- Photo ID matching the name on the negative test will be required for fans over the age of 18.
IN BOTH CASES
- The Saskatchewan Roughriders will not be storing any personal health information or vaccination records. This is a visual verification process only.
- Verification will happen prior to entering the ticket or bag check line.
- Gates will now open 2 hours prior to kickoff which is a half an hour earlier than normal. We encourage fans to arrive at the stadium no later than 1 hour before kickoff in order to get through the line efficiently.
More details on the verification process and what it will look like on game day will be announced early next week. In the meantime, the Club encourages fans to sign up for eHealth Saskatchewan’s MySaskHealthRecord account and download or screen capture their COVID-19 vaccine record.
Vaccination clinics will continue to be hosted outside of Mosaic Stadium throughout the season for fans looking to receive their first or second COVID-19 vaccine.