Seven Ottawa LCBO outlets will have free COVID-19 rapid tests starting on Friday

Ottawa residents will be able to pick-up COVID-19 rapid antigen tests at seven LCBO outlets starting on Friday, while it will be Tuesday at the earliest before other popup locations open in the capital.

The Ontario government has launched a "holiday testing blitz", with up to two million rapid tests being provided for free at popup testing sites in high-traffic settings and at select LCBO stores.

The initial list of 29 pop-up locations at malls, community centres and farmer's markets released on Wednesday did not include any pop-up sites in Ottawa.

Medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches says the city of Ottawa has been in contact with the province on the locations for the pop-up locations.

"The province has chosen 10 sites in Ottawa for the distribution of rapid antigen tests and we think the first shipment will come on Dec. 21," said Dr. Etches on Thursday.

Ottawa Public Health has not said where the 10 sites will be located.

Mayor Jim Watson says the city will be working with the province to see if it can get the kits sooner than Tuesday.

"I know that just watching some of the news coverage today, people were lining up getting those kits and I think Ottawa residents should have the same ability to get those kits sooner than later," said Watson. "We'll raise that with the province to make sure that we have the kits and we have the distribution ready to go when we do receive them hopefully before the 21^st."

With rapid antigen tests becoming a hot item this holiday season, some businesses are having trouble getting the tests delivered on time.

"There are some delays in the shipping," said Lynn Ladd of the Ottawa Board of Trade. "We are working really hard with the province."

The Ottawa Board of Trade, which has already distributed more than 160,000 tests to 1,300 businesses in Ottawa, says they've been impacted by the surge in demand.

"Rightfully so, the government has chosen to look at other avenues to get even more test kits out into the hands of the public. And I think the necessity to divert some of them out has impacted all of the chambers across Ontario," said Ladd.

Guardsman Insurance has been using the rapid tests for staff since the summer.

"It’s been wonderful for both our piece of minds and our ability to reassure our clients that at least we know our staff are testing negative on a regular basis," said Thomas Watson, Guardsman Insurance Services Vice-President.

Dr. Etches provided advice for using the free COVID-19 rapid antigen test during the holiday season.

"If you have symptoms of illness, may as well go straight to a PCR test to make sure that's not COVID because a PCR test will confirm that," said Dr. Etches.

"If you don't have symptoms, then what you'd like to know is probably if you're going into a setting where you're concerned about others that are more vulnerable to protection and that result would change your actions in terms of whether you'd participate or not."

LCBO LOCATIONS

In a statement on its website, the LCBO says that starting Friday an allocation of free take-home rapid test kits will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at 100 LCBO stores across the province.

The seven LCBO locations in Ottawa with free COVID-19 rapid antigen tests are:

• Bank & Walkley
• Carling & Woodroffe (Fairlawn Plaza)
• Rideau & King Edward
• Gloucester Blair & Ogilvie
• Nepean Hunt Club & Merivale (Nepean Crossroads)
• Nepean Strandherd & Greenbank (Barrhaven)
• Orleans Innes & Tenth Line

The Ontario government said take-home tests will be available at select LCBO stores, starting with the busiest stores this week and with more stores added in the days ahead.

The LCBO released more information about the distribution of the kits at LCBO outlets.

• Anyone without symptoms or who has not recently been in contact with someone with COVID-19 is eligible to receive a free take-home rapid test kit
• Rapid tests will be available at the checkouts of participating stores. The LCBO asks that customers line up to get a test kit, even if they are not purchasing a product, to maintain an orderly and safe retail experience for customers and employees. 
• The LCBO also asks that customers only take one test kit at any one time, noting that there are several tests in each kit, to ensure fair distribution.
• The LCBO will not be administering tests. 

A full list of the LCBO locations offering free rapid antigen tests is available here.