Two of Saskatchewan’s largest unions representing health care workers want Premier Scott Moe to rein in talk of reopening the province’s economy, warning it’s too early to relax measures that have slowed the spread of COVID-19.
Tracy Zambory, president of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, said she was shocked when Moe said Monday that a plan to gradually reopen businesses could be introduced as early as next week if the province’s active case numbers continue declining and testing capacity increases.
“Now, none of this is a reason for complacency,” Moe said. “But it is a reason for cautious optimism. And it means that we can start to think about what the process of reopening Saskatchewan will look like.”
Zambory said she’s concerned the province still doesn’t have enough personal protective equipment — like masks or respirators — to adequately equip front line workers in the case of a significant, sustained outbreak. She also doesn’t think the province is yet conducting enough testing, she said.
Moe has said he wants the province to do 1,500 tests a day by the end of the month. The Roy Romanow Provincial Laboratory’s current record is 1,051, but only 528 tests were conducted on Sunday.
“How can we talk about reopening before we have that testing? I think it’s a very premature move,” Zambory said.
She and SEIU-West President Barbara Cape, whose union represents thousands of health care workers in various positions across the province, said they also worry Moe’s comments could give false hope that life is about to go back to normal, even if he did urge Saskatchewan residents to not become complacent.
“When you start to make those sorts of announcement, people get a little sloppy,” Cape said. “They start to bend the rules.I think the premier and Dr. (Saqib) Shahab are feeling a fair amount of pressure from the public. And if I could give them some advice, I’d say stay the course.”
The debate on when — and how — to reopen provincial economies has surfaced in the past week in provinces like British Columbia, where officials have expressed “cautious optimism” that the pandemic is under control.
At the same time, officials are cognizant a second wave of the virus is possible if reopening happens too quickly. China, where the virus originated, had apparently suppressed it but is now seeing a new uptick in cases.
Moe said reopening would be a “phased” approach that relies on expanded testing capacity and vigorous contact tracing so any further outbreaks could be quickly contained.
