Leader of the Official Opposition Ryan Meili said during a press conference on Monday, May 4 that the public deserved more clarity regarding the province鈥檚 delayed response in communicating the northern Saskatchewan COVID-19 outbreaks.
鈥淲ith a growing number of local outbreaks, the health minister should be doing everything possible to provide the public with timely information they can trust,鈥� said Meili.
鈥淯nfortunately, that trust was shaken last week. We need clear and complete answers for why the public was told repeatedly that the outbreak in La Loche was under control, why the decision was made to delay notifying people about the outbreak in Lloydminster and what the minister is doing to improve communication and co-ordination,鈥� he continued.
Meili disclosed that the Saskatchewan Health Authority had said the Ministry was notified about the Lloydminster outbreak on Sunday April 26 or 27, but the public was not notified until Wednesday, April 29. 聽
An outbreak has since infected dozens of people in that community and spread to Prince Albert, Beauval and other communities in the northwest.
Health Minister Jim Reiter said in a teleconference on Monday he would like to be informed as soon as possible, but also thought it was important to be patient enough to let officials work.
Reiter also said the outbreak announcement could鈥檝e been handled in a timelier manner and added everyone involved could have done better in this particular case.
鈥淭he buck stops with the minister. Certainly, I鈥檒l accept some responsibility. Could it have been done more timely? It certainly could have and we are going to endeavour to make sure it is. I took some comfort in what happened with the reporting in Prince Albert. I am comfortable going forward it will be done more timely in the future,鈥� Reiter explained further.
Reiter also said that in going forward, a lot more has to be done to handle the current outbreaks in northern Saskatchewan.
鈥淲e have got to get the job done there. There is obviously a far too high rate of infection there. We have to get testing done quickly, we need citizens to help with this as well obviously just like everywhere else in the province,鈥� said Reiter.
Reiter added that although there are remaining outbreaks in Saskatchewan, he is content about moving forward with the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan. 鈥淚 am comfortable where we are at with this. I think by being cautious, we have managed to keep our numbers low,鈥� said Reiter.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important that we continue to do that,鈥� he added.
