COVID-19: Sask nurses' union head worries people will get ‘too comfortable’ amid plans to re-open the economy

Medical staff work at a computer terminal as they prepare for the opening of the COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Brewer Park Arena in Ottawa, during a media tour on Friday, March 13, 2020. The assessment centre, operated by The Ottawa Hospital and CHEO, is an out-of-hospital clinic where people can be assessed and tested for COVID-19 if required. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

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SASKATOON -- The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses is raising concerns about the potential impact of the province’s plan to re-open the economy.

Tracy Zambory, the union's president, said she hopes people will continue practicing physical distancing and handwashing as businesses re-open.

“We just worry when we start this conversation, we’re going to get far too comfortable and start forgetting all the good rules that we’ve worked so hard on,” Zambory told CTV News.

But the union isn’t against restrictions slowly being lifted.

“There’s no reason reopening the economy and keeping people in Saskatchewan safe from COVID-19 can’t go in tandem,” Zambory said.

Last week, the union opposed the plan saying it’s not time “to loosen the reins, we need to stay the course.”

But Zambory said she now stands behind the plan after hearing how gradual it will roll out, with options to postpone certain phases of the plan.

The first phase of the" Re-open Saskatchewan" plan is expected to begin May 4.