Every day, thousands of our youngest Nova Scotians not yet vaccinated against COVID-19 walk through the doors of daycares.

But the Houston government has once again created a glaring deficiency in their Omicron response by ending contact tracing for childcare and not providing rapid test kits.

“Daycares continue to be an afterthought for the Houston government,” says Education critic Derek Mombourquette. “The reality is that children and staff at daycares deserve protection just as much as staff and students at schools. They need rapid test kits.”

Daycare operators across the province are struggling with staffing shortages under Omicron, making the need for quick access to rapid tests even more obvious.

“The parents of children at daycare are often those who need to physically be at work, like health care providers,” said Mombourquette. “But the Houston government’s oversights are putting all the pieces in place for daycare closures and a further punch to our economy.”