Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to take this opportunity to talk about this coronavirus, the COVID-19, and I want to advise the following. The health and social services system has been preparing for a potential NWT outbreak since early February, based on emerging information from the World Health Organization and the federal government. The Office of the Chief Public Health Officer has developed guidelines for Northwest Territories health professionals and has issued regular alerts so that the health and social services workforce is being kept informed. Clinical resources will continue to be developed to reflect the latest advice from the international and national infectious disease experts, with guidance from the Chief Public Health Officer and staff, and is being provided to the frontline daily.

The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority held a first staff information session last week, where the Chief Public Health Officer presented on the coronavirus. The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority has also been retraining staff on the use of personal protection equipment, hand hygiene, proper hand-washing techniques, and have provided education sheets on the COVID-19 over the last four weeks. Presently, the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority have scheduled weekly all-Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority staff calls to provide information. Should the frequency of these calls needs to be increased, that will be done. I do want to talk a little bit more about the process, if that is okay; I think this is important, and I just want to go further into detail. I apologize to the House.

The swab testing kit for coronavirus is a standard nasopharyngeal swab. The swab resembles a large Q-tip, that is used to swab the back of your throat. This is a standard item stocked in all of our facilities. I have been assured that the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services has also been delivering more swabs to all of the staffed health centres. Once a test is taken, it is sent to the provincial lab in Alberta, with a three-to-seven-day turnaround time for results, depending on your location.

The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority wants to ensure that all of their testing for COVID-19 are being directed to individuals who meet the screening criteria. The criteria for screening includes people returning from outside the Northwest Territories who develop symptoms after 14 days of recent travel. Symptoms include fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. So, if residents have travelled and are developing symptoms, they are being asked to self-isolate, contact their local health centre or the public health unit for information on how to coordinate testing, and also refer to the department's frequently asked questions posted on the website along with the attached information sheets on self-monitoring and self-isolation for more information. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Member is asking questions about money and what the government is doing as a result of that, so I would like to just defer the question over to the Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Okay. With my colleague's support here, yes, the Government of the Northwest Territories will be looking at some of those options. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Counselling requests are triaged based on risk. If a person is at a higher level of risk, for example, suicidal, they are not subject to the wait times and they are seen within a day or two. Our approach to reducing wait times in the Seamless Care Pathway, we are working to make sure that people are matched with the right level of service to ensure more timely access. The goal of this is to improve access to mental health services, but it's also focused on how we match people to their services. The Seamless Care Pathway approach is about offering the service that best meets the needs of the person. This program is overseen by the Department of Finance; oh, sorry. No. It's our department. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Currently, at this time, our department is not looking at including private counsellors into the service delivery model. We had looked at it, and using private counsellors would be extremely expensive; for example, two, possibly three, times the cost for employing our own counsellors. Our approach to reducing wait times is the Seamless Care Pathway, that we are making sure people are matched with the right level of service to ensure more timely access. What I am aware of, in reading my briefings and meeting with staff, is that the wait times for counselling do not exist in most communities. Wait times are mainly an issue in Yellowknife and Hay River.

Wait times are tracked in communities where they exist and follow up with people on the wait list every three weeks to ensure that they still need the counselling and that their level of risk has not changed. I do want to expand that a main part of this work is to improve access to counselling by adding same-day walk-in appointments, as well as other options, like e-mental health access. These types of efforts have been shown to have dramatic impacts on wait times in other areas of the country. This work is underway as we speak and is on track to be implemented this spring 2020.

We all agree that we need to do a better job in providing access to mental health services. It is a priority for this Assembly, and an issue that my department takes seriously, and we are currently working on.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Information available for our mental health supports and services can be found on our department's website. The department also uses social media, including the Northwest Territories Help Line Facebook page, which promotes health and mental well-being as well as service options. All Health and Social Services professionals can also refer individuals to mental health supports and services. We know that we need to do more and use more different approaches. The department's Mental Wellness and Addictions Recovery Action Plan commits to engaging with residents to ask them about how they want to receive information about mental health and addictions services and supports. The engagement is ongoing, and the results will be used to inform new approaches. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We're not aware of compensation yet. I think we're still in the planning stage. The Northwest Territories COVID-19 pandemic planning guide and checklist is guiding our system preparations. The Health and Social Services authorities are planning for a surge in case this may affect regular delivery of health services. As we prepare to respond for a potential pandemic, there are certainly risks that we will face. We are planning to address these risks, even as the situation changes quickly. These areas are planned, is preparing to respond to, and what will be reflected in our proposal to the federal government to help support and provide us with funding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

At this time, we are not considering closing any public institutions. There are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 here in the Northwest Territories as of a few minutes ago, and if there was, I'd be the second to know. There are no cases here. As a result of that, we are not planning on closing down any public institution. However, as a precautionary measure, our government is enhancing surveillance for the COVID-19 to include those individuals who present flu-like symptoms within 14 days, or have travelled outside the Northwest Territories. The best precautions, however, are what we've been communicating. If you are sick, stay home. If you have flu-like symptoms, stay home. Monitor yourself. Practice safe hygiene and respiratory practices.