REGINA — Opposition leader Ryan Meili responded to the provincial government’s pandemic message for the holidays, calling on officials to be more proactive as a fifth wave of COVID-19 looms in the future.
Meili spoke to media on Dec. 22 following an update from chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab the day prior.
Shahab clarified that no formal gathering restrictions will be coming into place over the holidays, making Saskatchewan the only province without health orders responding to the spread of the Omicron variant.
Public health is instead recommending residents avoid celebrating in large groups and use rapid tests to monitor themselves closely. Shahab also said that officials are watching transmission closely and considering more interventions if a surge of Omicron cases occurs in the province.
The Sask. NDP are critiquing the decision, pointing to modelling shared by public health that indicates a fifth wave spike of COVID-19 is very likely without intervention.
“We need to be prepared for the worst and hoping for the best, not what we see from Scott Moe which is hoping for the best and preparing for nothing,” said Meili.
Meili said the government should be signing public health orders to restrict gathering sizes, not just issuing advice to residents.
He said that while many Saskatchewan residents will hold their celebrations safely and with the chief health officer’s advice in mind, there are always some who will not.
“We cannot simply rely on people to take a suggestion,” said Meili. “We need to have some rules in place.”
A spike in COVID-19 cases would be detrimental to the health care system, which is still struggling with high capacities and burnout in frontline staff from the fourth wave, said Meili.
“A choice to do nothing risks further cancellations of surgeries, treatments and therapies,” said Meili.
Some experts are describing the Omicron variant, which is likely to become the dominant strain of COVID-19 spreading in the coming weeks, as more transmissible than previous strains but with milder symptoms.
Meili said it was “unwise” to operate on the assumption that the Omicron strain is less severe, as it will still spread quickly and overwhelm health care resources.
“It's way too early to assume that this is milder,” said Meili. “We just don’t know.”
After the fourth wave which saw predominantly transmission of the Delta variant, Meili feels that residents shouldn’t rely on the potential resulting natural immunity to protect against the fifth wave.
He also pointed out that although the vaccine booster program is now open to all residents over 18, Saskatchewan still has the lowest rate of vaccination in the country.
“I think it would be certainly premature to say we’re in a better position than other jurisdictions,” said Meili. “And with Omicron being so much more contagious, with more risk of vaccine escape or reinfection, we cannot relax.”
Meili also critiqued public health’s announcement that updates to the COVID-19 dashboard will not take place from Dec. 24-27 and Jan 1-3, which he described as “unacceptable.”
He said that similar to this summer, the Sask Party is ignoring advice from medical experts at the expense of Saskatchewan residents.
“It’s a national embarrassment and certainly a provincial shame,” said Meili.
