A test for COVID-19 is administered at Embassy Grand Convention Centre in Brampton, Ont., in May.Fred Lum/the Globe and Mail
Students at Ontario schools will each take home five rapid COVID-19 tests over the winter holidays, the province announced on Thursday as it also unveiled a new strategy that will allow people with symptoms to seek tests at up to 1,300 pharmacies.
The decision to distribute rapid antigen home COVID-19 tests to all of the province’s two million students comes just weeks after the government resisted the idea of widespread surveillance testing in schools, frustrating some parents who had set up their own volunteer rapid-testing programs. Last month, the province said this kind of less-reliable testing is only of use where transmission rates are high.
But on Thursday, Ontario recorded 711 new cases of the virus – the highest daily tally since September. Chief Medical Officer of Health, Kieran Moore, said the rapid tests are now needed to catch infections before schools open after the winter break, with cases expected to rise even more as temperatures drop and people celebrate over the holidays.
“Because of the combination of the winter, the socialization, and the known increase in case counts that we’re seeing, we think it’s prudent, reasonable, proportionate to have those tests in the hands of families to be able to use to further protect them over the holiday season and to best detect early any cases before the return of school in the first week of January,” Dr. Moore said.
Despite the rising cases, Dr. Moore pointed out that Ontario’s weekly rates of COVID-19 remain among the lowest in Canada, and that capacity in hospitals and intensive care units remains stable. But he warned that no one should underestimate COVID-19 and advised everyone to follow public health rules.
Regina Bateson, an Ottawa mom, said the distribution of rapid tests is smart. But she’s also concerned the logistics haven’t been thought through. Ms. Bateson and parents in several communities across the province had initiated their own volunteer rapid-testing program in schools in September. But the government blocked their initiative and said the tests were only for workplaces.
“The province has repeatedly said they do not have the capacity to test every child in Ontario. And now they are promising to do just that,” Ms. Bateson said. “So, my reaction is guardedly optimistic.”
Alongside Dr. Moore at an event at a Toronto pharmacy on Thursday, Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott also unveiled other details of the province’s new winter testing strategy, including plans to expand testing for people with COVID-19 symptoms to up to 1,300 pharmacies. Six hundred pharmacies were set to offer this testing as of Thursday, she said, up from 211 that offered only asymptomatic testing until now.
Ms. Elliott said the plan will make it easier for people to get tested, particularly in areas far from hospitals or assessment centres.
When the concept came to light earlier this week, many medical experts reacted with dismay, warning against mixing contagious people suffering from symptoms of what could be COVID-19 in a pharmacy with vulnerable elderly customers who might be filling prescriptions.
But Dr. Moore defended the plans on Thursday, saying pharmacies will put protocols in place to keep customers safe, including separate spaces for tests and, in some cases, separate entrances. He said critics had not reviewed the protocols, and U.S. pharmacies have safely conducted this kind of testing.
“I do think it can be done safely and that we can trust our pharmacy partners and experts to ensure that their clients remain safe and protected,” Dr. Moore said.
The province says pharmacies will have to adhere to infection control measures similar to those in place at existing hospital-run assessment centres. Patients will have to make appointments to avoid lineups, wear masks and stay physically distanced. The province’s plans also call for cleaning protocols and “optimizing” ventilation.
Pharmacies will be able to distribute free take-home test kits as well, which are also being rolled out in more schools across Ontario. These tests, distinct from rapid antigen tests, must be returned and sent to a lab.
Some pharmacies, starting in Northern Ontario, will also offer rapid in-store molecular testing, with results available in 15 to 30 minutes. The province says getting test samples to and from labs has been difficult in the North.
The province’s testing plan also calls for special mobile testing teams, which will be sent to high-transmission areas over the holidays in gathering places such as malls. Mobile vaccination clinics will be on offer as well.
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