Unlike Quebec, several provinces recommend rapid tests only for asymptomatic people.
This is particularly the case for Saskatchewan. “Routine and voluntary home screening will help prevent asymptomatic transmission to those who cannot be vaccinated and reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in the community,” the provincial government said.
In Ontario, testing is also recommended for people who do not have symptoms of COVID-19 and who are not a close contact with someone with the virus.
In addition, Ontario does not recommend testing in people who have been vaccinated, “because the likelihood of being infected with COVID-19 is low in this group, which could lead to an increase in false-positive results,” the report said. provincial government.
In New Brunswick, rapid tests are also reserved for people who have no symptoms of COVID-19 or who have been to a place of potential exposure in the past 14 days.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, PRESS ARCHIVES
Roxane Borges Da Silva
The recommendation of Ontario, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick to use rapid tests only when one is asymptomatic is “logical”, argues Roxane Borgès Da Silva, professor at the University’s School of Public Health from Montreal. “As soon as we have symptoms, we should go for a PCR test,” she explains.
If rapid tests were offered in large enough quantities, a person who has no symptoms but needs to visit a vulnerable person or attend a family gathering could then do a self-test, says Ms.me Borges Da Silva.
Conversely, in Manitoba, rapid tests will only be given to symptomatic and vaccinated people. People who are not vaccinated or who are at high risk of serious illness will have a PCR test instead.
Self-declaration in Nova Scotia
Unlike Quebec, some provinces do not require a PCR test to confirm a positive rapid test result.
In Nova Scotia, PCR testing is now restricted to people with symptoms, close contact, workers in high-risk settings, or people at high risk for serious illness.
As of Monday, anyone who tests positive on a rapid test must notify Public Health by sending their name, date of birth, health insurance number and contact information to the provincial Public Health. She is automatically considered a positive case and no longer needs a PCR test.
In Alberta, only people who have a high risk of serious illness or who work in a high-risk environment should take a PCR test after a positive rapid test result.
This method helps ensure that the PCR test is available to those who need it most, the government said.
In Prince Edward Island, rapid testing is limited to health care workers who are not fully immunized, travelers, children, residents in remote areas, and workers in nursing homes. long duration.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, rapid tests are only distributed to travelers 5 years of age and over arriving in the province. British Columbia, on the other hand, still does not offer rapid tests at all. She plans to do so at the start of 2022.
As in Quebec, the demand for rapid tests is very strong in most of the other provinces, where stockouts have been reported in places.
With the collaboration of Florence Morin-Martel, Press