N.L. making COVID-19 rapid tests widely available for first time since pandemic hit
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/11/2022 (1417 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador health officials are making COVID-19 rapid tests widely and freely available to the public for the first time since the pandemic began.
Chief medical officer of health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald told reporters today that officials will mail two test kits to every family in the province.
Test kits will also be available at provincial libraries and at the constituency offices of members of the legislature.
Previously, the province had issued test kits to families with school-aged children.
Otherwise, residents had to purchase rapid test kits at pharmacies and drugstores, often for more than $20 each.
Fitzgerald says making rapid tests available to everyone will allow people to make better decisions about their risks of contracting and spreading the virus.
Meanwhile, the province is not seeing the early arrival of influenza season or the high cases of respiratory viruses reported in other provinces such as Ontario and Quebec, she said.
That could change, Fitzgerald said, and she urged residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and the flu. Masks are still recommended, and residents should wear them if they think they’re at risk of being exposed to a respiratory infection, she said.
“The recommendation may become stronger as time goes on and as we see changes,” Fitzgerald said, adding that she doesn’t believe the current levels of respiratory illness in the province warrant another mask mandate.
“Before you start infringing on people’s rights, that you have to have the evidence to support doing so and that there’s really no other way to mitigate that risk,” she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2022.
Related Articles
Manitoba not looking at mandating masks: Roussin
Advertisement Advertise With Us
