FREDERICTON – David Coon, the NB Green Party leader and MLA for Fredericton South, and Megan Mitton, the Green Party’s Health Critic and MLA for Memramcook-Tantramar, are calling on the Higgs government to make rapid tests available to all New Brunswickers ahead of the Easter long weekend.

“We know from experience that long weekends are followed by an uptick in COVID cases,” said Coon. “New Brunswickers want to have peace of mind that they won’t be putting elderly or immunocompromised family members at risk by visiting them this long weekend.”

Since January the Higgs government has restricted rapid test availability to New Brunswickers under the age of 50 who have COVID symptoms. Nova Scotia has taken a different approach, providing free access to rapid tests to anyone who wants them, while also making them available in public locations including libraries and MLA constituency offices.

“Premier Higgs keeps saying he wants New Brunswickers to make decisions to protect themselves, but how can they do that when most don’t even have access to simple tools such as rapid tests?” questioned Mitton. “He needs to make rapid tests accessible to all New Brunswickers by offering them in communities across the province.”