Rotational workers from New Brunswick say they’re feeling discriminated against.
The province tightened restrictions Thursday, asking that anyone coming back from work self-isolate for a full 14 days – no more getting off early with a negative COVID-19 swab.
Reaction was immediate – with Health Minister Dorothy Shephard promising “tweaks” Friday.
When those tweaks came, they made things even trickier for out-of-province workers.
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Coronavirus: New Brunswick rotational workers disappointed with new self-isolation rules
Now anyone in a household with someone in self-isolation must also isolate for 14 days.
So, someone who previously stayed in a separate room when back in the province on their days off would now have to find somewhere else to stay unless their partners and kids could make arrangements to go to work and school remotely.
“I think it’s unfair,” says Noah Paget, a New Brunswicker currently working in the Northwest Territories.
“My wife works as well so it’s not like she can take two weeks off every time I come home.”
Paget recently joined a Facebook group for rotational workers and their families – which lit up with conversation this weekend as people like him expressed their frustrations.
“People don’t realize how many rotational workers there are in New Brunswick,” says Paget.
He says last summer, he used to stay in a camping trailer in his yard while home – moving to the basement when things got colder.
“A lot of people don’t understand it until you’ve done it yourself,” says Paget.
“It plays tricks on your mind when you’re looking at the front of your house but you can’t go in and see people.”
Now, he says he’s looking at possibly shelling out $2,000 for a hotel stay and meals.
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Some of the Facebook group’s over 2,000 members shared screen captures of email exchanges with their local MLAs, including Sussex-Fundy-St. Martins MLA Tammy Scott-Wallace.
Global News reached out to her for an interview Sunday but she was unavailable, offering a brief written reply.
“The rotational worker issue is one I am dealing with like any other MLA who will bring concerns forward for constituents,” writes Scott-Wallace.
The province cites concerns over variants of the virus spreading outside borders for its stricter measures — workers like Paget and their families are hoping things might change if their story gets out.