Long lineups for COVID-19 rapid tests in Ottawa suburbs, but not downtown
Hundreds of people lined up in the early morning cold in Kanata for COVID-19 rapid tests on Friday, but it was a different story at a downtown pick-up spot.
The Ontario government ran rapid test pickups at Hazeldean Mall in Kanata and the Rideau Centre in downtown Ottawa on Friday.
In Kanata, hundreds of people lined up outside the mall, then down the sidewalks on Eagleson and Hazeldean roads to get tests.
At the Rideau Centre, some people lined up early for the tests, which were handed out on the fourth floor. But soon there was no line at all with many tests still to be handed out.
Staff hand out rapid tests at the Rideau Centre on Friday. There was no lineup for much of the morning.
In a posting on Facebook, Hazeldean Mall said there will be a limited supply of kits available, "Currently that limit is 1,000."
Rapid antigen tests will be available at Hazeldean Mall and the Rideau Centre on Saturday, Jan. 8 for pick-up.
On Wednesday and Thursday, hundreds of people lined up before dawn at Bayshore Shopping Centre to pick up test kits. On Thursday, the line started forming at 3:30 a.m.
The rush to pick up rapid antigen tests comes as Ontario changes the rules for deploying the test kits as COVID-19 cases rise and testing capacity is limited.
The pop-up sites handing out free rapid antigen tests will run until Jan 14.
Under the new rules, the tests will no longer be recommended for "one-off" uses, including before social gatherings, due to the risk of false negatives.
Ontario announced the rapid antigen tests for the most vulnerable sectors will now be recommended for three purposes:
- Test-to-work purposes to meet critical workforce needs in the highest risk settings
- For people without symptoms as screening, including health care workers
- For people with COVID-19 symptoms. If two consecutive RATs, separated by 24-48 hours, are both negative, the symptomatic individual is less likely to be infected
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