The province will be handing out rapid COVID tests to school boards in parts of Ontario.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kieran Moore says the program will focus on public health units where the risk of transmission is high to identify and prevent transmission in schools and licensed child care settings.
Chatham-Kent currently has one of the highest rates of new infections per capita in Ontario. While there’s been no official word if any of the rapid tests could be earmarked for local distribution, CK’s Medical Officer Dr. David Colby says he does not see a routine use for them.
Rapid antigen screening will be used only for unvaccinated asymptomatic students and children who are not high-risk contacts. Symptomatic or high-risk contacts should continue to access lab-based PCR testing available at assessment centres and other collection centres.