Book Sabres tickets and a COVID-19 test in one? Pharmacies get inventive as U.S. border reopens
A COVID-19 test could be booked along with the purchase of Buffalo Bills or Sabres tickets as American pharmacies seek to provide services to an expected surge of Canadians travelling across the border when it reopens to non-essential travel.
Done right, the test result could be e-mailed to a traveller before the game is even over, said Joe Bellavia, the supervising pharmacist at Vital Pharmacy in Buffalo told CTV News Toronto.
“A Sabres game is a perfect example. They could come and be tested before the game, enjoy dinner and we can provide them the results before it’s time to go home,” he said.
Vital Pharmacy is just one example of inventive COVID-19 test ideas being offered on both sides of the border, seeking to find ways to make it convenient — if not necessarily cheap — to cross the border.
Interest in cross-border trips are expected to surge on Nov. 8, when the United States border reopens to non-essential travel for vaccinated individuals. That means going across the border for a game, a shop or for any legal reason will be possible as long as you are fully vaccinated.
But, so far, neither government has changed the testing requirements. To get into the United States, travellers must present a negative antigen test.
And to return to Canada, Canadian citizens must present a negative PCR test that was sampled in the last 72 hours.
On the Canadian side, Go Test Rapid has set up a drive-through testing tent on Jane Street just north of Highway 401 in Toronto. They’re banking that travellers going on short trips will want to get a test before they cross the border because the 72-hour window gives people a lot of flexibility.
“Some people are getting those PCR tests on the way out, and that means they’re already set up for the way back,” Go Test Rapid’s marketing manager, Eden Hazan, told CTV News Toronto.
And to drive the point home, the company is offering a special on getting an antigen test — and a PCR test — at the same time.
“It makes it really easy to travel for a short trip,” head nurse, Rohit Sharma, said.
The Public Health Agency of Canada is still advising against non-essential international travel. Canada opened its borders to vaccinated Americans on August 9. Basic travel documents remain requirements to cross the border.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.