Liberal MLA Coralee Oakes says we are almost a year into the pandemic and we have been told all along that testing is a critical component to ensuring the health of constituents…
“Rapid testing is critically important, we need families to have access to their loved ones, we need to make sure we are protecting the health of our seniors and we need to be protecting our staff, who are exhausted.  There are significant concerns, like all of us, that what happens if we contract COVID and we pass it on.”
Oakes says with what is happening in the region, it is even more important…
“I am deeply concerned about the fact, and I’ve certainly heard we’ve got constituents that depend on Williams Lake and the Memorial Hospital and certainly we’re seeing outbreaks in some of the surrounding communities, so of course there is increased concern.”
Oakes says if rapid testing is good enough for our sports leagues, then why can’t we look at doing something for our seniors.
She also plans to ask Northern Health on behalf of constituents when vaccines will be available in Quesnel and the north in general.
Oakes says Alberta has been able to do it in their long-term care homes, and she says many homes in the Lower Mainland have now had vaccinations as well.