Families of rotational workers want more testing to help with turnaround challenges

With Newfoundland and Labrador back in Alert Level 5 the province's strictest level of pandemic restrictions families of rotational workers are calling for point-of-entry testing to help ease some of the challenges they face.

The restrictions mean rotational workers who work elsewhere in Canadacan no longer take a COVID-19 test on Day 7 of their isolation. They also can'tleave their property and must isolate themselves from other family members.If a rotational worker can'tself-isolate within the same home, everyone in the household has to isolate themselves for 14 days.

This makes spending time with family a difficult challenge on a turnaround, among other difficulties,says Kim England Penney, whose husband returned home from work outsidethe provinceWednesday night.

"He's at our house isolating while I had to pack up my daughter and granddaughter and move out. Because we don't have a separate space in our house for him to isolate away from us, we can't have contact with him," England Penney told CBC Radio's CrossTalk.

"I still have to work occasionally. I work part time. SoI can't go to work if I choose to stay in the house with him."

Wanda Taylor, whose husband works on the Great Lakes and returned home last Friday, said she's in the same boat.

"They're not allowed no shore leave, they're not allowed to step on land. Sohe's in isolation there and he comes home for two weeks and he's isolated to the house."

Right now, though, Taylor said she's off work due to medical reasons, and isable to isolate with her husband fortunate circumstances, as she's an essential worker with two school-agechildren.

"This has been the first time in the 11 months of isolation that we've actually all stayed together," Taylor said.

'Do the testing'

Both England Penney and Taylor want to see point-of-entry testing put in place for rotational workers to alleviate the challenges families are going through again under heightened restrictions from the recent outbreak in the St. John's metro area.

Listen to the full interview:

Both said they understand the problems with the plan, such as thepotential for false negatives from rapid testing kits, andEngland Penney said she would settle for a return to testing on Day 7 of isolation.

"Do the testing. I don't know why it's been taken away. I think it needs to be reconsidered," she said.

"Our rotational worker husbands are apparently labelledas a higher risk of bringing it to our province but yet they're being denied the testing."

Taylor said it's better to catch more cases than hope for the best, and wants public health to use rapid testing on rotational workers to identify possible cases.

"Just please, please consider the point-of-entry testing. It needs to be done. We're to the point now where things seem to be getting worse," she said.

Fitzgerald is scheduled to deliveran update on Alert Level 5 on Friday.

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