How to get tested for COVID-19 in Ontario during the fourth wave
Testing infrastructure in Ontario has been adapting to meet people’s needs since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and now, amid a fourth wave, it’s as important as ever.
CTV News Toronto has compiled a list of how you can get a COVID-19 test in Ontario.
PUBLIC ASYMPTOMATIC TESTING
How does it work?
- Asymptomatic people can get this test for free at select pharmacy locations if they are eligible.
- Those eligible can fill out a screen request form on the pharmacy’s website to get an appointment for the free test or they can contact a pharmacy over the phone.
- The province has a database of all asymptotic testing locations on their website.
Whos eligible?
- People who are working, living in, or visiting a long-term care home, homeless shelter or retirement home.
- International students who have completed their 14-day quarantine, farmworkers and Indigenous peoples.
- Youth and staff who plan to attend overnight summer camps in 2021, people travelling into remote Indigenous communities for work and children and staff at child care settings.
When do results come back?
- Most results are ready 24 to 48 hours after the test. The wait time for the results may be longer or shorter.
COVID-19 ASSESSMENT CENTRE TESTING
How does it work?
- Ontario residents can be tested for the novel coronavirus for free at any provincial assessment centre.
- Information about how to book an appointment and find an assessment centre is available on the province’s website.
Who’s eligible?
- People with any COVID-19 symptoms and those who have been exposed to the disease can get a test done at any provincial assessment centre.
- Workers, residents and visitors at long-term care homes and other congregate settings.
- Farmworkers, Indigenous peoples, staff in child care settings and those in need of testing for surgery or for other medical reasons.
When do results come back?
- Most results are ready 24 to 48 hours after the test. The wait time for the results may be longer or shorter.
RAPID COVID-19 ANTIGEN TESTS
How does it work?
- Select pharmacies offer rapid COVID-19 antigen tests. People can visit Shoppers Drug Mart’s website to find locations offering the screening and can phone to book an appointment.
- The test costs $40.
- The pharmacy advises that rapid COVID-19 antigen tests are not used to officially diagnose COVID-19, so it’s different from a COVID-19 test.
- A rapid COVID-19 antigen screen may identify the presence of antigens in a person’s body, and the results come within minutes. This may indicate that a person may have an active COVID-19 infection, but a follow-up COVID-19 PCR test is needed to confirm a COVID-19 diagnosis.
Who’s eligible?
- People who are asymptomatic, who have not recently been exposed to a person with COVID-19 and who have not travelled recently outside of Canada.
- People who have not previously tested positive for COVID-19.
- People who have not recently been advised to get tested by the COVID-19 app.
When do results come back?
- The results typically come back in 15 to 20 minutes.
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL COVID-19 TESTING
How does it work?
- At a number of pharmacies, including Shoppers Drug Mart, COVID-19 testing is available at select locations for asymptomatic individuals who require a negative COVID-19 test for an upcoming international flight.
- The cost for the test is typically around $200. Most pharmacies allow people to book the test through their website or by phone.
Who’s eligible?
- You must have an upcoming international flight and can provide flight details as confirmation.
- You must not have been exposed to anyone with COVID-19 recently, you must be asymptotic, and you must not have travelled outside the country in the past 14 days.
- You must also not have tested positive for COVID-19 previously and must not have been advised to be tested through the COVID-19 exposure app.
When do results come back?
- Results will typically be available within 48 hours.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.