Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we move on from the first wave of the COVID-19, I can't help but wonder what the second wave of this pandemic might have in store for us later this year. Our territory has endured the first wave of COVID-19 with relatively good success, seeing as we have only had five cases, all of whom have recovered, and no community transmission. We are now about to enter phase 2 of our territory's Emerging Wisely plan of reopening the economy to regular life. However, Mr. Speaker, I remain concerned about our territory's level of preparedness for future waves of COVID-19, or even for future pandemics that we may face down the road. My primary concern, though, is about our regional centres and small communities' level of preparedness.
In an April 6, 2020, interview, the Premier stated that the Stanton Territorial Hospital was well-equipped and well-stocked with personal protective equipment. Missing from the Premier's answers, however, was any information about any small community's level of preparedness. Do other communities have face masks, gowns, protective glasses, or ventilators? Do health centres and nursing stations have the proper procedures in place to deal with one positive case of COVID-19, let alone a potential outbreak?
Mr. Speaker, this government has also stopped short of sharing any projections of potential COVID-19 cases transmitted across the NWT. Sure, we are a small populated territory, but that shouldn't prevent us from releasing basic projection data, just as any other province would. I think releasing this type of information would help the people of the NWT to see where the vulnerabilities lie for our territory in the face of global pandemic. I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.