The Chief Medical Officer of Health is offering clarification on a decision to move away from widespread public PCR testing.

Eligibility criteria have been changed, focusing on more vulnerable populations including seniors, the very young, Indigenous adults, and front line workers involved in direct patient care and those working in long-term care, congregate living facilities, group homes, and shelters.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says a shift was needed to help bring the health care system back to more normal operations.

She says staff at the regional health authorities have been redirected to COVID swabbing and bookings for two years and it’s important to get more of those staff back to normal duties.

She says it’s time to start thinking of PCR testing as a clinical test rather than population-based testing.

She says lab operations have also been affected including lab testing for other areas of patient care.

She says with 1500 to 2000 PCR tests being processed daily, it’s almost impossible to do other work carried out in labs.

3-Million Rapid Tests Distributed Across Province

In the meantime, about 3 million rapid tests are being distributed across the province through schools, daycares, shelters, congregate living facilities, ambulances, and post-secondary institutions.

Dr. Fitzgerald says each student has received another ten new rapid test kits, which can be shared with family, friends, and neighbours.

School administration can be contacted for more tests as needed, and there is no limit.

If your family has recently been through a COVID-19 infection, you won’t need to be tested for another three months.