A candidate for provincial Liberal leadership is calling on the party to delay the resumption of the race.
John Abbott is up against Andrew Furey for the role as Liberal leader, and thus Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. However, the election was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abbott wrote the Liberal Party on Friday, to request that the election process remain suspended until Newfoundland and Labrador reaches ‘Alert Level 3’ of the Public Health Emergency Order. The Liberal Party is expected to make an announcement on its decision today, but Abbott contends that resuming the process now is against the public interest.
As of today, some restrictions have been lifted by the provincial government, but Abbott says the changes are minimal and that the province is still facing the same situation as it did when the election was paused. Should another surge happen and the province is forced to return to a higher level of restrictions, he asks if that will mean stopping the election for a second time.
Abbott says while he wants the job as Premier, he feels it is owed to the public to further return to normalcy before having to make a decision that will determine the fate of the province.
By holding off, Abbott says it will allow people to give the election the attention it deserves.
No Date for Move to Level 3
As of Monday, May 11, Newfoundland and Labrador has shifted to ‘Alert Level 4’ of the Public Health Emergency Order, which means a limited lifting of some public safety restrictions.
It’s the first step in resuming some sense of normalcy, according to the province’s plan for ‘Life with COVID-19.’
Chief Medical Officer of Health for this province, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says it will take at least four weeks—or 28 days—to determine whether it is safe to advance to Alert Level 3.
Fitzgerald stated that health officials will not hesitate to put restrictions back in place, should the need arise.
There were no new cases of COVID-19 identified over the weekend in Newfoundland and Labrador, with the provincial total remaining at 261 as of Sunday afternoon.
