The New Democrat MPP for Windsor West is calling on the Ford government to provide free COVID-19 rapid tests to people across Windsor-Essex.
Lisa Gretzky believes the province should be handing out as many free rapid tests as possible in Windsor-Essex, especially as people start to get together over the holidays, to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
"Cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in Windsor, putting strain on our local hospitals and EMS, and putting all of our families and communities at risk. The situation is getting worse each day -- our positivity rate is more than double the provincial average, schools and child care centres are shutting down due to outbreaks, and the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is imposing new public health restrictions," said Gretzky during Question Period in the Ontario Legislature on Wednesday.
Some Ontario workplaces offer rapid tests for their employees, and children in publicly funded schools are being sent home for the December break with a kit of five rapid tests each.
But for the most part, the tests that offer results within around 15 minutes are not freely available to people who simply want to rule out an asymptomatic COVID-19 infection before a holiday gathering, for example.
Gretzky believes we need to use every tool that we have to stop the spread of COVID which includes rapid tests.
"Also give people peace of mind as we go into the holidays when they are gathering with family members, even when they're following the public health guidance and the restrictions, it's giving them that peace of mind that they are not potentially, inadvertently, exposing their family members to COVID-19," she says.
Gretzky says rapid tests are one of the best ways to ensure we have hospital capacity for those who need surgery or other medical conditions.
"One of the best ways that we can do that, aside from public health guidance and the restrictions that are out there, is to ensure that everybody can go out, get one of these tests that they can take home and do to ensure that it's just a cold that they have and not COVID, and they're not going out there and spreading it," she adds.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is defending his government's approach to COVID-19 testing as calls grow for expanded access to rapid tests.
When asked today why rapid tests aren't free for everyone in the province, Ford pointed to the 33 million rapid tests already distributed by his government and referenced other testing initiatives like the five rapid tests being given to students.
With files from the Canadian Press