Saskatchewan NDP Leader, Ryan Meili is asking the government to come up with a clear, concise plan to address childcare concerns in the province during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Meili says there needs to be a plan in place to help take care of children of health care workers because, by nature, they are more likely to get exposed to COVID-19.

That plan, according to Meili, should be the closure of day care facilities to  curb the spread.

He proposed a couple of options including having out-of-work teachers go into the homes of healthcare workers and look after children from there.

Meili added that while the situation around COVID-19 is ever changing, the childcare system in place right now won’t work.

“Getting childcare right is challenging, but where we are today with those centers still open and no clear date of closure, we’re moving towards a model that doesn’t actually keep people safe, but actually makes things worse, clearly that’s not the direction we want to go,” said Meili.

Meili echoed the sentiments of Regina Mayor Michael Fougere in saying that gatherings should be limited to 4 or 5 people.

“I think the idea of a group of 40 people, or 30 people right now is concerning,” said Meili. “Folks should be, at the very least, taking that on their own, avoid any groups where you’re going to be with lots of people.”

Meili also asked the government to try and make sure that case numbers and new developments are relayed to the public as soon as possible.

“As soon as those numbers are available, release them,” said Meili. “Instead of waiting all through the day, an early morning release would be a good idea, making sure that any new measures are communicated as soon as possible so that they can be implemented as soon as possible.”

Meili continued to push for a unified, bi-partisan approach from the government to fight COVID-19.