N.S. parents waiting hours for 811 callbacks as students return to school
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Claudia Chender, NDP MLA for Dartmouth South, says the province should have been prepared for this situation.
‘A month ago we put out a call to say we’re all going back to school and we know that the symptoms for colds and viruses dovetail pretty closely with the symptoms of COVID, and 811 is going to get flooded in the first couple weeks of school, we knew this was going to happen,’ Chender says.
She says the party has been calling for a more expedited way to get calls through the system but it didn’t happen.
‘I think it’s good for people to screen and get through, but the process has to happen quickly, and right now it’s not happening quickly,’ Chender says.
She says parents and teachers are reporting long waits just for their initial call to be answered.
Both Chender and MacFarlane say lengthy delays can put a financial strain on families, as they have to take time off to care for their child as they await instruction from 811 or for test results, which can take days.
‘We know that not all Nova Scotians have paid sick days,’ says Chender.
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