Ottawa needs Ford to get his act together and release second wave plan now: NDP

OTTAWA — NDP MPP for Ottawa Centre, Joel Harden, released the following statement following an announcement on Friday from Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa’s medical officer of health, that the city is now experiencing its second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Thank you to Dr. Vera Etches and Ottawa Public Health for showing leadership. Premier Doug Ford has been too slow to respond to a second wave of COVID-19 that he knew was coming. His neglect is putting people, families, and children at risk. Thousands of people in our city have tested positive for the virus, while we have seen a record number of cases today.

Ford needs to get his act together and release a second wave plan now. Ford should act on Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath’s call to boost resources for public health units across the province and prevent further spread with testing, contact tracing and paid sick days for everyone. Ford should be capping class sizes at 15 and school busses at 50 per cent.

He needs to staff up long-term care with thousands of PSWs, and make their jobs full-time and better paid. He needs to support hospitals now, and have a plan in place to support renters, workers and small businesses, like the NDP’s Save Main Street plan.

People in Ottawa cannot afford to wait another second for a second wave plan."