The government announced Thursday that it will soon deploy more than 700,000 rapid point-of-care tests into a variety of settings, offering asymptomatic individuals more opportunity to be tested during the ongoing pandemic.
Rapid tests usually measure viral antigens and can produce a result in 15 minutes. The tests are most reliable in the early stages of COVID-19, often when individuals aren’t symptomatic but still capable of spreading disease. A positive rapid antigen test means you most likely have COVID-19, which will be confirmed by a PCR test with the Saskatchewan Health Authority labs within 24 to 48 hours.
Testing will be offered through a variety of settings — including walk-in or drive-thru sites, mobile testing and pop-up testing sites — and will be offered to long-term and personal care homes, shelters, detox facilities, group homes and schools.
“These changes give us the ability to move swiftly to expand testing options,” Health Minister Paul Merriman said in a press release making the announcement. “We know that testing plays a crucial role in helping to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus and now with variants of concern surfacing in our province it is more important than ever that testing is expanded to make it easier, quicker and more convenient to access.”
Tests will also be available for ambulance, police and fire departments and participating pharmacies and dental offices. The Saskatchewan Health Authority is also looking at pop-up point of care testing sites and the ability for health care workers to carry out weekly surveillance testing on themselves.
You can click right here for a more in-depth look at how rapid COVID-19 testing works and for more information testing in Saskatchewan, visit www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-testing.
