By Canadian Press

Tory leader O’Toole says he won’t bar MPs from using private COVID-19 testing site

Sep 25, 2020 | 2:06 AM

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole says he’s urging his MPs to be hypervigilant amid concerns they could bring COVID-19 back to their ridings from Ottawa.

But he says he won’t bar them from using the same private clinic he did after being turned away from a public site after hours of waiting in line to be tested. 

The nation’s capital is seeing a surge in cases just as Parliament is resuming semi-normal operations for the first time in months.

O’Toole isn’t in his front-row seat in the Commons, but in his home office in mandatory isolation following his own diagnosis with COVID-19. 

He says when he returns next week, he will be urging the Liberals to speed up approvals of rapid testing so people don’t have to be turned away. 

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He says his experience has not changed his perspective on the requirement for the Commons to meet as much in person as possible, but does underscore the need for everyone to take precautions. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2020.

Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press