Access to rapid COVID-19 tests opened up in Sask.
Rapid COVID-19 tests can now be used by businesses and individuals in Saskatchewan to screen for COVID-19.
The Government of Saskatchewan announced amendments to The Medical Laboratory Licensing Regulations, 1995, allowing residents to use rapid antigen tests without a formal agreement with the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
While rapid antigen tests are not a diagnostic test, they can be used to screen asymptomatic people for COVID-19. Saskatchewan health officials recommend anyone that receives a positive test result from a rapid test should isolate and call 811 to schedule a PCR test.
The province anticipates around 30 per cent of businesses will show interest in employing rapid testing. So far, 181 businesses have shown interest, and 67 are already receiving supplies for the delivery of the tests.
“There’s a lot of fear around testing and we want to dispel some of the myths that this is a way to get your business shut down,” Carrie Dornstauder, acting Test to Protect chief for the SHA’s emergency command centre, said. “This is a way to find cases as early as possible, reduce the impact to your business and really keep your workforce strong.”
Workplaces have been the main source of outbreaks in the province during the third wave.
Since May 1, 50 per cent (57 of 113) of outbreaks listed on the Government’s website are listed were in workplaces.
Opposition Health Critic Vicki Mowat says making these tests more widely available is the right move, but it should have happened sooner.
"Government's been sitting on this stockpile of rapid tests since December," she said.
Mowat added the Government has all its focus on the vaccine rollout and needs to continue controlling the virus.
"Vaccines are one way of combating the virus, but we also at the same time need to be controlling spread," she said. "In order to do that, we have to use rapid testing, we need to make sure that our testing and contact tracing are up to speed, so that we can control the virus when it does present itself in community."
Large national businesses that operate in Saskatchewan can request rapid tests through the federal government’s website.
Small and medium enterprises within Saskatchewan can apply for tests through the SHA.
Tests will also be available for the general public from select retailers who offer them. The government recommends checking the Health Canada website to ensure the tests are approved for use.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
For the first time in report's history, Canada's air quality worse than U.S.
Air quality in Canada is now worse than in the U.S., according to the 6th Annual World Air Quality Report. Of the 15 most polluted cities in the two countries, 14 were in Canada.
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
WATCH LIVE As former prime minister Mulroney lies in state, public tributes in Ottawa begin
Members of the public who wish to pay tribute to Brian Mulroney can visit his casket in Ottawa starting this afternoon.
BREAKING Roy McMurtry, former Ontario attorney general, dies at 91
CTV News has confirmed that former Ontario attorney general Roy McMurtry has died.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
DEVELOPING Canada's annual inflation rate ticked down to 2.8 per cent in February, defying expectations
Statistics Canada says the annual inflation rate edged down to 2.8 per cent in February.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.