City Centre Bingo
© Provided by Star Phoenix Gordy Ouellette stands among the empty chairs at City Centre Bingo. The bingo hall has been closed since November, 2020. Photo taken in Saskatoon, SK on Monday, January 18, 2021.City Centre Bingo made masks mandatory at all times in the bingo hall on Nov. 6, masks are mandatory in all public spaces in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert. Step by step directions for your drive or walk. Easily add multiple stops, live traffic, road conditions, or satellite to your route. Find nearby businesses, restaurants and hotels. City Centre Bingo - Cabin Fever Bingo. BINgo (306)244-6100. Due to the provincial covid closures, we are closed until saturday february 20th. City Centre Bingo. Regular program jackpots. Get Driving, Walking or Transit directions on Bing Maps.
The general manager of a Saskatoon bingo hall said he was shocked to learn that an October outbreak declared at the facility resulted in 80 cases of COVID-19.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority revealed the number in response to an inquiry from The StarPhoenix this week.
The SHA posted a warning on Nov. 6 about a “potential COVID-19 superspreader exposure” at an event held Oct. 24 at City Centre Bingo on 22nd Street in the Caswell Hill neighbourhood.
“I’m flabbergasted by that,” City Centre general manager Gordy Ouellette said of the number in an interview on Friday. “That blows my mind.”
SHA spokeswoman Amanda Purcell said in an email that the 80 positive cases include secondary spread uncovered through contact tracing.
City Centre Bingo closed for two weeks for thorough cleaning after the alert, then reopened for a week. It closed again in late November, when the province reduced the capacity for facilities like bingo halls to 30 people.
On Dec. 19, the province mandated the closure of bingo halls and casinos.
Ouellette said he’s skeptical that the number of cases could be as high as 80, since the bingo hall had followed all the rules.
About 225 people visited the 23,000-square-foot facility, which has with a capacity of 710 people, on Oct. 24 — about the same turnout as any other Sunday since City Centre reopened in July, he said. It imposed a 225-person limit to allow for social distancing among patrons and staff, he added.
“I don’t want to absolve ourselves of any blame for this, but we followed every mandate plus more.”
The hall implemented mandatory masks about a week before the province introduced a measure requiring masks in indoor public spaces in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert.
It also bought six scanners before reopening, to gauge people’s temperatures for signs of fever, Ouellette said.
“Every person who came into this bingo hall got scanned. I had to hire extra staff for that.”
City Centre Bingo is owned by the 55 Saskatoon charities for which it raises money.
The bingo hall outbreak is believed to be the largest in Saskatchewan linked to a single event on one day, although Purcell did not respond to an email seeking confirmation of that.
City Centre Bingo Shuttle
A series of gospel outreach events in Prince Albert in the fall was connected to 86 cases in 17 communities. Another “potential” superspreader was identified at Crackers bar in Saskatoon from Dec. 23 to Jan. 4, resulting in 87 cases, according to a CTV News report on Thursday.
The SHA has declined to offer an explanation of how it defines a superspreader event.
© Matt Smith Gordy Ouellette runs City Centre Bingo, which has been closed since November.Related
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