Non-profits, NDP want COVID-19 testing for homeless

Test kits in short supply nationally

Community organizations and the Saskatchewan NDP are proposing dedicated COVID-19 testing for homeless people in Saskatoon’s core neighbourhoods, a process they say remains unclear even after the government changed its testing criteria.

A March 25 memo from the Saskatchewan Health Authority said people in a “vulnerable community setting” are among those who should be prioritized for testing, but advocates say it’s unclear how to arrange testing in the first place.

Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership President Toby Esterby said the city’s homeless have been cut off from phone and internet services normally offered at city drop-in centres, which have been closed. Even if they could phone the province’s health line, he noted, they’re often busy trying to survive.

“Homeless people have to get something to eat, and then they have to worry about where they’re staying that night,” Esterby said. “Getting tested ranks somewhere below those two things.”

On Tuesday, Social Services Minister Paul Merriman said people in emergency shelters who need to be tested could arrange that through their social workers. He also announced $171,000 for 10 emergency shelters in the province, which he said would help pay the cost of cleaning supplies to maintain sanitary standards.

Advocates were quick to say the money wasn’t enough. They also argued shelters may not have the skill, knowledge or protective gear to screen someone for COVID-19.

AIDS Saskatoon executive director Jason Mercredi, who is working at community hubs set up at Saskatoon’s White Buffalo Youth Lodge and the Salvation Army’s Temple on Bateman Crescent, said there are other logistics of testing — like arranging transportation or the amount of time a social worker would take to respond — that haven’t been addressed.

He believes the disease could move quickly through the core neighbourhoods because of the high rates of underlying disease and difficulty of enforcing distancing measures among a population with no stable housing or income.

“When it arrives in the core neighbourhoods, it will be here to stay,” Mercredi said. “This will be a litmus test for the impact it has on our hospitals.”

Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark has also raised concerns about the general effect of COVID-19 on social services, noting an outbreak in a shelter could be a “significant public health emergency.”

On Wednesday, Premier Scott Moe sought to ease concerns around shelters, saying the Ministry of Social Services was doing its best to “limit” the spread of the virus and was regularly in contact with shelters. NDP Leader Ryan Meili has raised concerns about the government’s support for organizations and its rate of testing in general. While the nasal swabs needed for a COVID-19 test are in short supply — an SHA memo reported a nationwide shortage as recently as March 25 — Meili argued everyone with symptoms should be tested for the disease, not just recent contacts or travellers.

Meili, a former Westside Community Clinic physician, said core neighbourhoods should have dedicated testing resources nearby to ensure quick testing and easy access to followup services.

“If you give them (a homeless person) an appointment across the city in a week, you might as well tell them their appointment is in Toronto,” Meili said.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority did not respond to a request for comment by press time.