Sask. NDP asks government to make PCR testing more available for kids

The government's handling of the pandemic was back on the agenda during question period at the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly on Monday.

Opposition Critic for Municipal Affairs Carla Beck confronted the government with the current COVID-19 hospital numbers of children, especially those who are not old enough yet to get vaccinated.

Saskatchewan's latest weekly COVID-19 statistical summary, covering the time from March 6 to 12, reported a rate of ER visitors aged one to four with COVID-like illness of 72.6 per 1,000 — an increase over the previous preschool age rate of 67.9 per 1,000 visits from Feb. 27 to March 5.

"This government has pulled the plug on protecting kids under five," said Beck, who is the MLA for Regina Lakeview.

"We don't yet know what the effects of long COVID looks like on kids."

The NDP politician called on the provincial government to include kids under five to the list of people eligible for a free PCR test.

Health minister points to free rapid tests

Parents deserve to know if their child has the disease and get it on the medical record, said Beck.

Minister of Health Paul Merriman responded by referring to the "over 18 million" rapid tests for people in Saskatchewan to use at home.

Once COVID-19 vaccination has been approved for children under five, the province's health care system will also make those available for everyone, he said.

"What I can say on long COVID … we understand that there may be some effects," said Merriman.

"We have formed a working group that is dedicated to long COVID that's going to be made up of the SHA, the U of S College of Medicine and the Ministry of Health."

If further testing was required within the emergency room, physicians would order that, including a PCR test, he added.

Currently PCR testing is reserved for at-risk priority populations, including hospitalized patients, according to the province's website.

Other people who want or need a PCR test result, for example for travelling or insurance claims, might have to pay for it at a private lab service provider.

Opposition Leader Ryan Meili has already spent the first two weeks of the sitting calling for a return to daily COVID-19 reporting, including hospitalization and ICU data.

While he acknowledged during a scrum with reporters on Monday the availability of rapid tests in Saskatchewan, Meili said there are limits regarding the availability of PCR tests to physicians.

"There are limitations on what, as a doc, I'm allowed to request," he said.

Mortality rate rose

During the sitting, Meili confronted the premier with the COVID-19 mortality rate in the province as announced by the Saskatchewan Health Authority's physician town hall on Thursday.

According to last week's meeting, the death rate per 100,000 people in the last 14 days jumped to 4.7, the highest rate among the provinces over the last two weeks. 

"Saskatchewan is losing people faster than anywhere else in the country," said Meili.

"The numbers don't lie and this premier intends to do nothing differently."

The province reported 28 COVID-19 deaths for the time period of March 6 to 12. Overall 1,179 people with the disease died between March 8, 2020 and March 12, 2022.

While Moe responded by offering his condolences to everyone in the province who lost a loved one to COVID-19, he said Saskatchewan and other provinces are providing the tools for individuals to manage the risk.

The premier added he is proud of how people in Saskatchewan have been facing the pandemic, and how they are using the available tools. 

"By no means are we through COVID," said the premier.

"Saskatchewan people are ready to move forward to live with this virus in our communities."

COVID-19 hospitalization numbers are down by 40, said Moe, referring to the province's update last week which reported 299 patients as of March 16 compared to 336 as of March 9.

Moe denied a request by Meili to commit to an independent inquiry into the province's COVID-19 response.

"Throughout this pandemic, we have made the best decisions that we can with the information at that point in time," said Moe.