ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — NDP Leader Alison Coffin says her first thoughts are with those who have tested positive for COVID-19, those who are getting tested and those who have to isolate.
“That is the primary concern right now,” Coffin said Thursday after the COVID-19 briefing revealed 53 new cases of COVID-19 and 32 presumptive positive cases in the Eastern Health region.
There are 110 active cases — four of them in Western Health.
The NDP has been consistent in saying the election timing was wrong and the call to the polls should have waited until more vaccines were rolled out, and the economic recovery task force report was out, as well as a preliminary budget.
That didn’t change Thursday.
“Now look where we are,” Coffin said, adding she is sure the chief medical officer of health and the chief electoral officer are working to make the election safe.
But she said the Liberals are to blame for the situation.
“The worst-case scenario has come to pass,” said Coffin, adding it was a self-serving decision by Liberal Leader Andrew Furey to call the election when he did.
“People are really angry about the way things evolved. I think what they should do is go challenge that and get out and vote,” she said.
Coffin has suspended door knocking and has advised candidates to campaign safely and respectfully with the public health guidelines in mind.
She said her car will be visible and she’s available.
They are using phone calls to contact people, as well as Zoom, and will use taxis — which already have safety provisions installed — to give voters a ride to the polls Saturday.
In an interview over Zoom after the COVID-19 briefing, Progressive Conservative Leader Ches Crosbie asked all those affected by the recent cases to stay strong during the difficult time ahead.
Compassion and empathy for all concerned is required, he said.
“That includes Dr. Fitzgerald, it includes the elections commissioner (Bruce Chaulk), it includes all of the candidates who are out there, many candidates out there, trying their best to cope with a rapidly changing situation and all their campaign workers, and parents and teachers and children, we need to be kind to each other,” he said.
“Nonetheless, what we saw today on the public briefing made it clear that the situation, while there is a desire on the part of Fitzgerald to make sure the election can be done safely, the plans are not yet in place for that to occur. She has not been given a plan, for example, for the (drive-thru) voting procedure by the elections commissioner. She’s going to need time to review that and make sure it’s the safest possible plan.”
Crosbie said consideration should be given to postponing the election a week so plans can’t be assessed.
“A measured approach that involves extra time to do things safely should be carefully considered by the premier.”
Meanwhile, those members of the public service who could stay home should have been given that direction when numbers spiked Tuesday, said Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE) president Jerry Earle.
Earle said thousands went to work Wednesday at the offices of government, boards, agencies and commissions when they should have been working remotely.
“It’s a big issue we raised this morning. … Have employees stay home during this circuit-breaker period,” he said, acknowledging that many other workers, such as health-care workers, inspectors and others can’t work from home.
Public-sector workers started going back to their workplaces in June and many were back by November.
Earle said, like many people in the St. John’s region, his stress level with the escalating COVID-19 cases and only a small number of people vaccinated is 15 on a scale of one to 10.
NAPE Calling on Metro Employers to Allow Those Who Can Work From Home to Do So For Immediate Release: Wednesday,...
Posted by NAPE Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees on Wednesday, February 10, 2021
He said the No. 1 priority is for people to follow the advice and guidelines set out by the chief medical officer of health to get past the bump in cases.
On Wednesday, Eastern Health announced that a staff member who was asymptomatic had tested positive at St. Clare’s Hospital.
Earle said Eastern Health informed the union Tuesday night and it’s not unexpected health-care workers would be affected.
“There are still a number of employees, of course, throughout the health authorities who need a vaccination,” Earle said, noting the initial focus placed on long-term care facilities in Phase 1 of the rollout.
He commended the efforts of frontline workers administering the vaccine.
But the supply is the major issue for why vaccinations are behind, he said.
“Even the priority groups are not all done and we are a month into the vaccination process,” Earle said.
But in fairness to the provincial government, Earle said, it again comes down to the supply of vaccines in Canada — it’s a national issue.
The employee tested positive late Tuesday afternoon and immediately following notification was sent home, and contact tracing and communication with staff, patients and their families began, Eastern Health said.
Patients on the unit were placed on isolation precautions and visitation was suspended. Enhanced cleaning was also implemented on the unit, required personal protective equipment (PPE) protocols for patients in isolation were put in place and additional PPE was secured for the site.
Contact tracing has been completed and there is no identified risk for staff on other units or facilities at this time, Eastern Health said, adding enhanced cleaning protocols have already been implemented in emergency departments, public spaces and throughout Eastern Health sites throughout the region, and they will continue. For the time being, additional infection prevention and control measures have been implemented on the affected unit only. Screening protocols remain in place for all individuals coming into Eastern Health facilities.
The health authority said it has seen some patients postpone their appointments at St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital to avoid travelling into the metro area, but patients who require emergency care and those with confirmed scheduled appointments at St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital should continue to come to the hospital for care.
In keeping with recommendations from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization and provincial guidelines, during Phase 1 of vaccine administration, Eastern Health is vaccinating health-care workers at high risk of exposure to COVID-19 and those who are directly involved in the pandemic response.
Eastern Health vaccinated more than 2,800 of its health-care workers as of Wednesday.
For privacy reasons, Eastern Health would not disclose the profession of the staff member involved nor their vaccination status.
About 14,000 people across the province have been vaccinated, according to Department of Health information online.
On a lighter note amid the dreary news of Wednesday with new shutdowns announced in the metro St. John’s area, a taxi driver in Goulds is trying to put a positive spin on things by offering free delivery of necessities to his customers.
“People are quick to jump all over the bad. I thought it would be a good time to offer to the vulnerable and more importantly the seniors in my community,” Donnie Earle of Goulds Taxi said Wednesday.
He is offering to deliver from the pharmacy and grocery store and needed hardware supplies to customers in Petty Harbour and the Goulds area of St. John’s.
Earle has two cabs and said his other driver is onboard with the idea, and he will compensate the driver.
He said he wanted to help people, especially older people, who might feel panic and not go and wait in lineups.
Earle said he started his business 25 years ago with his father, also Donnie, who died last year.
“I can’t compete with the big guys, but I've got the best customers in the world,” Earle said.
@BarbSweetTweets
@AndrewLWaterman
