EAST CENTRAL— Saskatchewan NDP leader Ryan Meili has called on the provincial government to expand COVID-19 testing and tracing throughout the province.
“We can and must act quickly and aggressively to get ahead of the spread of COVID-19,” Meili said. “Now is not the time to let up -- we should be testing everyone who has the symptoms and rapidly scaling up contact tracing to contain the spread of the virus.”
Currently, COVID-19 testing is limited to travellers who have a fever, health-care workers, and community members who may be part of a cluster infection.
The statement from Meili came on Monday, March 30, after the Saskatchewan case count grew over fifty percent during the previous weekend.
Meili said with community transmission becoming more widespread, the province must act aggressively to get ahead of the spread of COVID-19.
Meili also called on the provincial government to scale-up communication with the public regarding the measures required by launching an aggressive public advocacy campaign.
“People are anxious and trying hard to protect their families and their communities right now,” Meili said. “But in order for them to be taking the right steps, they need clear, up-to-date information from government.”
