Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. We have been fortunate to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the territory during the first wave of this pandemic. We were told a second wave is inevitable and likely to emerge at the end of the summer. In order to be ready for the second wave, we need to ensure that we have the capacity to conduct rapid testing and contact tracing on a large scale in the event that we have community spread of the virus.
1. Please provide an overview of how many tests, both rapid and standard, are on hand as of the end of May, and how many additional tests are available on short notice to meet our additional needs, and how quickly they can be delivered to Yellowknife?
2. How quickly are rapid test results available, and how long does it take to have the test results verified by the lab in Alberta?
3. How many staff are trained to perform contact tracing, and how quickly can this capacity be scaled up if the need arises?
4. Are the contact tracing staff able to provide services in all of the official languages of the Northwest Territories?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
