In response to the government’s announcement of a plan to expand rapid testing kit use in Saskatchewan, Official Health Critic Vicki Mowat released the following statement:
“It is promising to see a plan in the works to deploy rapid testing in Saskatchewan, but the government’s announcement was really light on details. There was no information on when this tool will actually be used in the fight against COVID-19. The news today is better than nothing, but how is it that we have had access to these tests for months and they haven’t even finished developing a tender for delivery?
Saskatchewan has the highest rate of active cases per 100,000 people (121 vs the Canadian average of 80) and our rate of completed COVID-19 tests per million is 24% below the national average (477 thousand per million vs the Canadian average 630 thousand per million).
With more contagious COVID-19 variants being found in Saskatchewan and across Canada, any further delay in getting rapid tests in our schools, health care settings and for our most vulnerable populations only increases the risk of a potential third wave.”