The province’s chief medical officer of health may find herself in the uncomfortable position at today’s COVID update of having to field questions arising from a political event that has generated a huge public outcry.
The Gander Liberal District Association held a fundraiser this week at Bally Haly, and while it followed all public health protocols, it’s left many crying foul.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald has repeatedly asked Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to temper plans for Christmas gatherings, indicating this is not the time for parties.
Health Minister John Haggie is the Liberal member for Gander and is defending the decision to go ahead with the fundraising event, which saw 23 participants in a room with a capacity for 250.
Dr. Fitzgerald has asked people to keep their contacts to below 20, but Minister Haggie says the political event this week is a different category.
He says seating was based on bubbles and the principle of social distancing, something which Bally Haly did a very good job with.
(File photo.)
PC Opposition Leader Ches Crosbie says a Liberal fundraiser this week may have complied with the letter of the law, but it sends a potentially dangerous message in the midst of the pandemic.
He questions whether the event was in the spirit of what government has been telling people to do in recent weeks as cases spike. He says government can’t expect people to follow the guidance if their leaders don’t.
Health officials have been imploring people to only get together in groups if necessary, as a second wave of COVID-19 sweeps across the rest of the country, and the world.
