Peterborough Businesses Offered Free Rapid Screening COVID-19 Tests

Another step to battle COVID-19 is here as small and medium-sized businesses can access free rapid antigen tests from the Ontario Government.

MPP Dave Smith led the rapid test program for Ontario since March. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

MPP Dave Smith led the rapid test program for Ontario since March. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The launch of the Peterborough-Kawartha’s rapid testing initiative was announced by MPP Dave Smith with members of the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Business Improvement Area on July 16.

Businesses with under 150 employees can sign up at the Peterborough Chamber website and can receive the testing kits within 24 hours.

Smith gave a private demonstration just outside his Water Street constituency office Thursday afternoon for PTBOCanada. The test is done with a swab that entered the sinus area through the nose, twisting three times for a sample before being combined in an antigen solution. The liquid is placed onto a testing kit and operates similarly to a pregnancy test.

Results take no more than 15 minutes but typically take three to five minutes according to Smith. He recommends that businesses test twice a week.

“It doesn't show if you are infected with COVID-19, that's what the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test does," said Smith. "What it shows is that you have the COVID-19 virus in your sinuses and you have the opportunity to spread it to someone else when you breathe."

Anyone testing positive or inconclusive must book a lab-based PCR test as soon as possible within 48 hours of the test.

Two test results indicating that the COVID-19 virus is not present in the sinuses. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Two test results indicating that the COVID-19 virus is not present in the sinuses. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Being able to test in a parking lot before employees enter businesses is a game-changer according to Smith.

“It could potentially prevent the likelihood of a fourth wave in just a couple of minutes,” he said. “You can find out if someone has COVID-19 before they actually enter the workplace If you stop COVID in the parking lot, if it never goes into the workplace and there's no chance of spread amongst your staff then you have a safe place to work."

“The testing kits can provide a significant level of safety for local employers and their staff. I would encourage all employers to look at the rapid testing program as another tool in their COVID toolbox,” said Stuart Harrison, President and CEO of the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce.

Businesses and organizations that register can order a minimum of 25 individual tests by going to https://www.peterboroughchamber.ca/rapid-screening.html.

This portal will enable businesses to order their kits and select a time and date to pick them up from MPP Dave Smith’s Office located on Water Street.

Over 14 million people in Ontario have been tested with the kit so far which is more than any other province in Canada combined with just under one million according to Smith.

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