First responders in La Ronge are encouraged to get vaccinated. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

pandemic

Majority of La Ronge RCMP, nearly half of firefighters vaccinated for COVID

Apr 13, 2021 | 2:03 PM

First responders in La Ronge should have quicker access to a COVID-19 vaccine after the provincial government expanded eligibility this week.

That means firefighters, police officers and other frontline essential workers will be able to receive a vaccine if they so choose rather than having to wait for their age group to be called. Healthcare workers who have yet to be vaccinated will also be given priority and pharmacies will be able to vaccinate their own employees.

The majority of RCMP officers serving La Ronge and Stanley Mission have already been vaccinated, while nearly half of those with the La Ronge Regional Fire Department have received a shot. Both Fire Chief Keaton Cloud and RCMP Staff Sgt. Dean Bridle said they are encouraging members to get vaccinated.

“First responders are at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 as we are often in close proximity of patients and entering various properties,” Cloud said. “We simply don’t know who might have it. We’ve been very lucky that we haven’t had any outbreaks within our department. This would be detrimental for community safety [as] we are not as lucky as other organizations where we can call in resources to cover off firefighters. We are all the community has.”

If there were to be an outbreak at the fire department, Cloud explained it would greatly affect operations as several members would likely need to be isolated. He noted it could affect even the most basic firefighting functions and, subsequently, put communities at risk.

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Since March 2020, the fire department has had a number of restrictions in place including the full sanitization of trucks, gym and training room after each use, mandatory masking, keeping distance as much as possible, restricted access to the fire hall, cancelation of tours, more aggressive janitorial cleaning and mandatory masking during training.

“Myself and our community leaders have been pushing for the vaccination of all first responders since the initial rollout, and we’re very disappointed when we were not on that initial rollout,” Cloud said.

Bridle also stressed the importance of first responders getting vaccinated. He mentioned it’s specifically crucial for RCMP as officers are tasked with enforcing public health orders, as well as dealing with the transportation of COVID-positive individuals.

“Members are required to wear personal protective equipment when attending to calls for service,” Bridle said. “Within the detachment, we are asking that people call the detachment opposed to attending in person, if possible, and are limiting front counter access to one person at a time. Within the office, members must wear face masks and practice social distancing.”

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno