Saskatchewan NDP and Opposition leader Ryan Meili is calling on the province to take further action to both detect and prevent the spread of new variants of COVID-19.
On Thursday, the Saskatchewan government confirmed another case of the U.K. COVID-19 variant, bringing the total to three in the province.
It’s a variant the province previously said was more contagious.
“We are in a race between vaccines and variants,” Meili said. “People are tired of this virus — pandemic fatigue is real. But so is the risk. COVID-19 has shown that the minute we let our guard down, it will attack without mercy.
“If action isn’t taken swiftly, we will have no choice but to continue with or potentially increase public health restrictions for many months to come — and endure even more record fatalities.”
Meili said he believes the Saskatchewan government’s “inability” to plan and prepare for the coronavirus pandemic, along with its second wave, has left the province “ill-equipped” to handle the ongoing risks from other variants.
On Tuesday, the province said the Roy Romanow Provincial Laboratory (RRPL) is testing travellers for variants of concern.
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But the tests need to be genome-sequenced at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. That process can take about one or two weeks.
“Because Scott Moe chose to ignore longstanding health sector staffing issues means Saskatchewan has to ship samples out of province and face processing delays while valuable equipment collects dust,” Meili said. “This leaves us vulnerable to these dangerous and more transmissible variants.”
In the province’s daily COVID-19 update Thursday, it said the RRPL is planning to increase its capacity to complete genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, but reminds residents of the necessary measures needed to limit the virus’s spread.
“Non-essential travel is not recommended at this time. The best protection against all COVID-19 variants remains the same as protection against COVID-19: stay home, physically distance, wash your hands frequently, wear a mask and get tested if you are experiencing even mild symptoms,” the province said in a release on Thursday.
“The Government of Saskatchewan is considering the impact of variants on COVID-19 planning including any required increase to public health measures and surge capacity planning.”
Meili is recommending several options to the Saskatchewan government to help fight the spread of COVID-19 variants. They include:
- Use a portion of the province’s untouched $260 million “contingency fund” to staff up laboratory services and testing and tracing
- Proactive rapid testing in schools, long-term care facilities, high-risk communities, and workplaces where social distancing measures are difficult to implement
- Strengthened case management and contact tracing
- A clear vaccine sequencing plan and schedule to end the confusion about where people are in the queue, and how they will find out when it is their turn to be vaccinated
“January was the deadliest month on record, but we have still had several days where less than 2,000 COVID-19 tests have been performed,” said Meili.
“Our front-line staff are doing their best, but preventing the spread of these more contagious variants means we need much more proactive testing in all at-risk areas.”
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