NDP wants province to use COVID-19 rapid test stockpile

The Saskatchewan NDP wants the province to implement widespread rapid COVID-19 testing.

Opposition Leader Ryan Meili was joined by Health Critic Vicki Mowat on Thursday to call on the province to begin rapid testing in schools, long-term care facilities and high-risk workplaces to better protect people.

Meili said the province has received 400,000 rapid tests but has only used roughly 10,000 — or two per cent — since shipments from the federal government arrived earlier this month.

“Why is a government that is so focused on closing as little as possible (got) to the point where their reluctance to do the right thing has actually resulted in the highest spread of the virus and the highest death rates in the country?” Meili said, pointing to the province’s emphasis on keeping the economy open as much as possible.

“Why, if that’s their focus to leave everything open, (decide) that they’re leaving one of the best tools available for safe reopening to sit and expire in a warehouse instead of getting those rapid tests out to the communities where they can actually do the job of keeping people safe?”

Mowat said Saskatchewan “has barely dipped into its rapid test stockpile” as other provinces like Manitoba, Alberta and Ontario have deployed strategies for rapid testing.

“This speaks to the government’s failure to deal with the second wave of COVID-19,” she said. “We haven’t seen any emphasis on increasing testing or contact tracing since the vaccine rollout started.”

Meili said rapid testing should not replace or undermine PCR testing, the go-to standard for COVID-19 testing, but implementing rapid testing could help catch asymptomatic cases.

“Unlike the PCR tests — which just tell you if you are currently infected with the virus and could be infectious — these catch people at the most contagious phase,” he said. “It doesn’t replace people getting tested when they have symptoms. It’s to catch those people who don’t even know they’re sick but are at a really high rate of contagiousness.”

Meili also called on Premier Scott Moe to reverse his decision to remove health-care workers from the priority category for vaccinations, calling the move an “insult” that doesn’t make any sense.