The official opposition leader Roger Melanson believes the province is at a point in this continuously evolving Covid-19 pandemic that incremental funding be provided to public health allowing our Province to embrace new testing technologies that become available as we keep combating the pandemic.

Just recently, we learned that Health Canada approved a rapid Covid-19 test. There may be additional advancements in testing that public health would be supportive of and the province should provide the necessary funding to make these tools available.

Melanson is concerned about the growing virus infection numbers south of the border and in other Canadian provinces. We know the 14-day quarantine is effective in reducing the transfer of the virus. But if new tools become available and public health believes they will help in the fight against the virus, New Brunswick needs to consider embracing them. We appear to be on the verge of a second wave that looks much more significant than the original outbreak in the spring.

“New Brunswick is a gateway to the other Atlantic provinces and there are still many people crossing our borders every day. If all that increases the chance of an outbreak, it would be important that the new technological tools are in place for testing and minimizing the risk levels.

Melanson notes that Dr. Russell has confirmed that many of the cases in New Brunswick are related to travel. He suggests that if Public Health believes New Brunswick would benefit from testing people arriving at entry points including our airports and naval ports, the provincial government needs to fund that initiative.

“It’s all about using all legitimate and certified tools available for keeping New Brunswickers safe”, said Melanson.