New Brunswick is providing COVID-19 speedy exams to nearly anybody who needs them.
Public well being arrange 20 distribution centres across the province with kits accessible starting on Monday. The centres are anticipated to function all through the week in lots of places.
Anybody who is just not a optimistic COVID-19 case is eligible to obtain them, in keeping with public well being.
A distribution centre in Saint John opened about half-hour early as a lineup of autos prolonged onto the road. Visitors was regular all through the day.
Nicholas Comeau was amongst numerous walk-ins who claimed take a look at kits.
“I simply assume that it’s a good way to maintain the neighborhood secure,” Comeau mentioned. “Simply to have the ability to know if we now have COVID with out being symptomatic.”
Julie Estabrooks grabbed some kits for her household.
“Our household’s handled some exposures and that kind of factor so I feel for lots of it, it’s peace of thoughts,” Estabrooks mentioned. “Simply in order that we are able to take a look at ourselves frequently and really feel snug with that. Everybody in our household is vaccinated besides my daughter, who’s below the age of 12. So, I feel for her profit, we’d additionally prefer to have entry to those speedy exams if want be.”
Comeau and Estabrooks each mentioned the expanded speedy take a look at program is “lengthy overdue.” The province has been utilizing speedy exams in long-term care amenities and rolled out a program for colleges with COVID-19 circumstances earlier in October.
Fast exams had been provided on Saturday to individuals residing in New Brunswick’s circuit-breaker zones. Tighter restrictions went into impact Oct. 8 in elements of 5 completely different well being zones with excessive charges of an infection.
Learn extra:
Canada must be ‘practical’ on school rapid testing amid U.S. supply crunch, advocates say
The province mentioned 37,500 exams — 7,500 five-test kits to be used over a 10-day interval — got out, and all three distribution centres needed to shut early as a result of they ran out of kits.
Public well being mentioned it doubled the variety of kits it had allotted for every distribution centre as a part of the provincewide rollout, and is ready to ship extra relying on demand.
World Information requested feedback on the expanded rollout from public well being and the New Brunswick Division of Well being, however interviews couldn’t be organized.
© 2021 World Information, a division of Corus Leisure Inc.
