Ontario rolling out rapid COVID-19 tests to some high-risk schools, child-care settings – CBC
Rapid tests will be provided at request of local public health units
Oct 05, 2021
Ontario will offer rapid COVID-19 tests to some schools and child-care settings to help ensure students can continue with in-person learning as much as possible, the province’s chief medical officer of health said Tuesday.
Dr. Kieran Moore announced the new rapid antigen screening program at a morning news conference.
Tests will only be provided to unvaccinated, asymptomatic children who are not considered high-risk contacts of a positive COVID-19 case, Moore said. In Ontario, children 11 and under are not yet eligible to be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.
Local public health units will have discretion in requesting the tests, Moore added, based on several key factors like the level of virus transmission and vaccination rate in the community where a school is based, and the history of COVID-19 in a particular school or child-care facility.
