Canada lacks robust COVID-19 detection system amid 6th wave. Here’s why

Canada must develop a robust system to detect COVID-19 activity in communities in the absence of wide-scale PCR testing, the gold-standard of COVID-19 detection.

Experts say Canada needs to develop a robust system to detect COVID-19 activity in the absence of wide-scale PCR testing.

Since the onset of the Omicron variant, provinces and territories have scaled back access to gold-standard PCR testing, citing the lack of capacity to keep up with demand and the need to free up health-care resources.

Many people have since relied on results from rapid antigen tests, but they aren’t as reliable at detecting the Omicron variant or reported and tracked the way PCR tests are. Experts say there needs to be a better way of informing people about COVID-19 activity in their communities.

Dr. Caroline Colijn, a mathematician and epidemiologist at Simon Fraser University, said there are currently “too many infections” in Canada to expand access to PCR tests to everyone to find out the true number of infections.

She said more robust programs could also be used to pick up other kinds of respiratory infections.

“And I suspect those are under development, but until they’re developed, deployed, and results are publicly available, people will have trouble finding out what their risks are in their social group, in their community and in their workplace,” she said.

“So then they’ll have trouble having the information needed to inform their own choices, their own workplace or community policies.”

Colijn said wastewater data is a really important source of information that can be publicly shared without compromising anyone’s private medical data and can help communities understand the prevalence of COVID-19. But like PCR and rapid tests, she said it has its limitations.