The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) have given Saskatchewan government changes to Self Isolation and Close Contact protocols a thumbs down.

One of the changes is that parents are no longer required to notify school about positive tests for close contact notification.

President of CUPE Saskatchewan Judy Henley says this change is not a step in the right direction. “This is a very contagious variant and for nobody to be given notice of close contact where you can avoid more spread , I just can’t believe we would go this way.”

The union says that changes to self isolation and close contact protocols from the Saskatchewan government has the potential to create a lot of problems.

The spreading of the Omicron variant could still occur after five days says Henley. “You can test positive on a Sunday and not show any symptoms until a Tuesday, so the spread of the Omicron, it’s like a silent spread, you have it and then you realized you had it days later.”

With cases and hospitalizations at their current levels, Henley is concerned about the timing of the announcement.” I’m not sure what the rationale is, because the numbers are climbing, we know from the Chief Medical Health Officer we’re going to be peaking in about two weeks, and we’re going to reduce restrictions now? It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Henley added that the Saskatchewan government is not listening to the concerns of union groups like CUPE with the easing of protocols.