Unlike in the rest of Canada, free rapid COVID 19 tests not widely available in N.L.
Global News
Newfoundland and Labrador residents say they're frustrated by the lack of free COVID-19 rapid tests when other provinces make them widely available at no cost.
Newfoundland and Labrador residents say they’re frustrated by the lack of free COVID-19 rapid tests when other provinces make them widely available at no cost.
Heather Elliott, a retail worker from St. John’s, says many of her friends and family are scrambling to find take-home rapid tests.
PCR testing, meanwhile, is only offered to select groups, such as people over 60, pregnant people and those working in high-risk settings like health care.
“Learning to live with COVID — part of that is being able to identify if you have COVID,” Elliott said in an interview Tuesday. “And unfortunately, in Newfoundland and Labrador right now, a lot of the population doesn’t have that option.
“If you want my opinion, that’s probably part of why our numbers are so high right now because people can’t test.”
On April 13, Newfoundland and Labrador reported 723 new COVID-19 cases over five days and a total of 1,588 active infections. Those numbers, however, didn’t reflect the real situation in the province because of limited PCR testing.
Unlike the rest of Canada, where limited supplies of COVID-19 rapid tests are available for free at community centres, pharmacies or government offices, Newfoundland and Labrador only provides free rapid test kits in schools, long-term care homes, congregate living settings and to health-care workers.
Elliott considers herself lucky, however. As the stepmother of a child who gets COVID-19 testing kits at school, she says she often delivers extra tests from her daughter to family members and friends who are feeling ill or who are planning to visit vulnerable people.
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